Reach
by TakeMeToWonderlandx
Summary: Eight years after the destruction of Gotham General at the hands of a deranged clown, a doctor with a genius for anesthetics is slowly rebuilding her life through any means necessary. But a fire is starting to ascend from the bowels of Gotham and burn away everything she ever was and ever will be. Bane/OC.
1. Despondency

"Have I ever told you that you look gorgeous in the dark, Finn?"

Oh that voice. I couldn't go a day without that voice invading my apartment. She was always quiet when she came in, slinking in and appearing at the most inconvenient times. My eyes rolled up to look at the intrusive woman. She was wearing that stupid suit again and her dark eyes twinkled at me from her spot on my windowsill.

"I'm certain I've told you that I don't distribute 'fucks' after twelve. What do you want, Selina?" I leered at her from my position, hunched over a cold bowl of ramen. Selina dropped her smirk, sliding from the windowsill and advancing towards me. It didn't take long, being that my apartment was an empty box.

"She worries about you. She wants to see you. We don't live that fa-"

"Jen is fine with you. You can be there for her more than I can. I don't have time to co-"

"It's not that you don't have time, it's that you won't make time for her."

I felt the bite from that one and I sat up straight. She was right. Between my job at the hospital and my…side job, my recreational time was limited. Selina's lips tightened into a firm line, her aggravation clear as day on the parts of her face that her mask didn't hide.

"Sending her money every week doesn't make up for your absence, Finley. And here's your damn package. I even got you clean needles for your customers. No need to thank me."

With quick hands, Selina slid a sealed package across the card table and left through the same window she came in from. She didn't even bother to close it. Bitch. I pushed back from the table with a passive sigh, moving towards the window to close it but was stopped by something. Something I never noticed before. An empty night sky. When exactly was the last time I actually looked at Gotham was's polluted night sky? I waded through murky memories, finally grabbing onto the memory.

A threat against Gotham Genera, my hospital. Chaos. Duct taped hands shaking uncontrollably. A single light in the sky, creeping in through the masks eyeholes. The light of the Bat.

I reared back from the memory, gasping. That was eight years ago. Well, almost. It'll be exactly eight years in less than a week. Five days. The city called it Harvey Dent day, to remember the 'White Knight' who died that day. Supposedly murdered by Batman. But the doctors, doctors like me, knew that the Batman saved us that night. Saved the city. He wasn't a murderer, I believed that much. But saying that out loud? Might as well wrap me in a straight jacket and throw me in Arkham.

I stepped back from the window, closing it and pulling the blinds down. I hadn't seen the light of the Bat in god…eight years. I shook the thought from my head, running my hands through my hair to get rid of the tangles. My sister and I shared the same bright blond hair. It was the small things I shared with her that made the separation worth it. I told myself it was for her protection, the whole thing with her rooming with Selina. In truth, it was to cover for my guilt. But I was getting better. At least that's what I had been telling myself.

Dragging my feet along the floor, I passed through my apartment like a sad ghost. My small bed was my safe place for the short hours I was alone and I sought out the warm sheets. My body eased and relaxed away the tension from the day, letting the peace of the night sooth me. But no, peace never lasted long in Gotham City.

The pager by my head startled me and I threw myself out of the bed. By bed, I mean "mattress on the floor". But it sufficed. Following the pagers beeps, my phone followed by screaming at me with the agitation of an emotionally wounded teenaged girl. Fuck it. With slow fingers, I answered the phone.

"Dr. Robinson here."

"Ah, Finley. You sound lovely." It was Dr. Ross, the head of my department. He and I were the authority, in a way, over anesthetics at Gotham Central. Even before its destruction eight years ago at the hands of a cross dressing schizoid.

"It's three in the morning, Ross. What do you want?"

"I have a lady, a quite lovely one, here that would to speak to you regarding your skills for painkilling."

"Can't you give her Tylenol and send her on her way? I'm dying over here."

"Not with this one. She's persistent. Not that I mind." I rolled my eyes, grimacing at the phone in my hands.

"Fine. But I better be paid double for this shit. Who is the asshole that thinks it's necessary to wake me up for this crap?"

"Miranda Tate, Dr. Robinson. And she can hear you."

Well hell. I just called the most powerful woman in Gotham an asshole and that was just the start of my problems.


	2. Vex

A/N: Wow, thanks for the praise so far! Please keep reviewing. Not for how great it makes me feel, but I like to see what ya'll have to say about it. Feedback is important to my writing process! Thanks again babes.

From my box apartment in the old parts of Gotham, the hospital was a good fifteen minutes away. Enough time to construct a perfectly worded apology to give the Tate woman. She could destroy me with a wave of her cash wads, so I'd have to step carefully around her. God, why was I still stressing over that phone call? Now my boobs were starting to sweat. This was going to go downhill fast.

The hospital took a more modern structure influence when it was rebuilt after the explosion. I didn't like it. Felt too different. Uncomfortable. That kind of uncomfortable when you try to fit into an old pair of jeans and realize your ass has grown too fat for them, so you don't know what to do with yourself for a good whole day. That kind of uncomfortable feeling, if you know what I mean. I dreaded the conversation that was going to happen as I pulled into my designated parking place.

Better to grin and bear it, than to cower away from it. She was only human, this Miranda Tate. But humans did nasty things to each other and everything else around them. My racing thoughts weren't making me feel better at all, my insides twisting and gnawing at each other in anxiety. I gently closed my Oldsmobile door. Poor thing could have been older than the city. I sighed. I wasn't going to be getting any sleep.

Dr. Ross was waiting in my office on the first floor. The first floor of the hospital was dedicated to trauma treatments, so my expertise was needed here the most. A trauma patient didn't have time to wait for an elevator. Neither did this Miranda Tate, who stood in front of my desk with the most exasperated expression. Like she was the one who had been woken up. I inwardly groaned.

"There she is. Sorry about the wait, Miss Tate." And with that, Dr. Ross left me with this woman I had only heard of. And who I also happened to have called an asshole only an hour ago. I could kill him. There was an odd tension between us as I moved around her to sit at my desk. Her eyes stayed on me like a hawk. I wasn't her enemy, so why the face? I would worry over that later.

"Good early morning, Miss Miranda. Is that okay if I call you that?"

"Yes, doctor. But the matters I need to discuss with you hold more importance than a name."

The seriousness in her voice brought me down from my 'bitterness cloud' and I immediately went to 'empathy cloud'. Underneath the seriousness in her eyes, I could see the pain of worry. She was worrying for someone. I was all too familiar with that.

"Yeah, of course. What was it that you needed? I'll do what I can."

"My friend…he is…he's hurting. Chronic pain from old wounds, but what we have him on now is failing on him. Failing on me, Dr. Robinson. I need what hydromorphone you have in supply. In time, I can restock it for you."

"I can see that the situation is hard, but I can't just send you off with some of the strongest painkillers we have. Why did you need to speak to me about this? Dr. Ross is just as capable as I am. Hell, he has more authority than me."

Her eyes hardened, glaring daggers into my soul. For a woman who looked so pleasant in photographs, she was beginning to change into something darker. She'd have to do more than glare at me to get her way however. Not in my office. I leaned back in my chair, the dark haired woman finding her seat across from me. Her red lips curled into a smile.

"I need a hydromorphone mixture, Dr. Robinson. I believe you are familiar with it. The good Dr. Ross may have more authority than you, but you hold more knowledge." Her smile was sardonic and knowing. She knew something. My gut tightened and I pursed my lips in frustration. She needed to be gone. And now.

"I can't do anything for you. Your friend isn't a patient and I can't send you off with thousands of dollars worth of drugs in your Prada purse, Miss Tate. Now, if that's it, I'll be going back home."

My voice was rushed and panicked, my skin tightening over my bone in an unbearable vice. I needed to leave and get home. This woman made me uncomfortable. And she knew she rattled me. She had to have with the way her smirk taunted me, just asking me to spill everything to her. Fuck. I brushed out of my office, not bothering to lock it. She wouldn't find what she needed in there.

What she needed was the package on my dingy card table at home. I had to be careful, trace back over everything. Did she have connections with the drug lords and addicts? She had to have. She was a board member of Wayne Enterprises. A powerful woman and I just denied her the one thing she asked of me.

My hands fidgeted as I drove back to my apartment. The sun was barely rising. I'd never get sleep now. Business started early and surely they were already lined up. I kept my transactions separate. Kept things more private and easily concealable. Somewhere I had messed up though. I slipped up and let myself be found out, or I was selling to a rat. Miranda Tate knew somehow what was going on and what I was selling. She wanted it. No, needed it. I was keen enough to hear that desperation in her voice as she made her case.

The idea frustrated me. That meeting at the hospital wasn't going to be the last time I would see Miranda Tate. I knew that in my gut. I didn't even apologize for calling her an asshole over the phone. She'd come back, somehow and some way to get what I had. Her tone that stuck with me told me as much. That tone of 'you'll do what I command or I'll destroy your body and soul with no hesitation' was hidden well underneath her accent, but I had heard that tone before. I dealt with people like that every day.

I tried to forget about Miranda as I arrived home to the shadows of my apartment. She wasn't my concern. With a toss of keys upon my table, I was reminded of how alone I really was. The key crash resonated through the apartment. No dog barked erratically, no cat came in to inspect. Not even a bushy haired sister to bother me about the noise. I frowned.

What I made was complicated. Various analgesics like hydromorphone, morphine, crushed Tylenol, and a pinch of cocaine to increase the possibility of addiction. It was a smart creation, but a deadly one as well. It had a long lasting bite to it like a snake's venom. Why would Miranda Tate want this for her friend if she knew what it was? Must be a strong friend if she thought he could handle it.

My hands shook as I slid the completed syringes into my satchel. I had stops all along Old Town and little time to finish them. It was damn near noon by the time I had finished putting the drugs together. Addicts had little patience and when they lost what they had of it, it could become deadly. I dressed as casually as I could. I had a small stature for a woman three years shy of thirty and that made me unassuming to Gothamites. That was just fine to me. I got around easier that way.

My first stop was the man who ran a convenience store on the corner of 67th street; my apartment's street. An older South African man, went by the name of Rafiki. No one really knew why, but we accepted him all in the same. He smiled as I pushed through the door, vaulting his self over the counter to embrace me. Maybe how spry he was, was the reason we called him that. He looked around the store after he let me go, beady eyes scanning over every inch before he finally spoke.

"Oh, I 'ave been waitin' for that delicious bite of venom for awhile, dear!"

"I had some time issues this morning Rafi, but I'm here in good ti- Who is that?"

I should have noticed him earlier. I cursed at myself. The man I was questioning sat casually behind the counter, his light eyes never leaving me. He was large and someone I had never seen before. He was dressed like an urban soldier. He even had the vest and military haircut. Rafiki turned quickly and barked a nervous laugh.

"Oh he's a working with me. I-I needed some help around here. I've been getting busy."

My eyes narrowed with all the skepticism of the world. He was lying. Chills ran along my arms and down my spine. Rafiki gave me his payment and I left without another word. It must have been a coincidence that that man was there. That's all it was.

At least that was what I had told myself until there were men dressed similarly at nearly all of my drop offs. All there 'to help' or 'visit family'. This wasn't coincidence. I was being followed or more like stalked. My chest constricted as I nearly ran back to my apartment, slipping through alleys and businesses back doors. I had to get home. I wasn't safe.

My apartment was untouched as I got home in time to get ready for work. I had the night shift tonight at the hospital and that was bound to be hell. There was never a calm day in a hospital, let alone a hospital in Gotham. I forced the creepy occurrences as I slid my seafoam scrubs on, throwing my lab coat over it. Couldn't even tell I was drug dealer when I wore my doctor mask so well.

I drove the same route to the hospital as I did this morning. Same parking spot. Walked the same thirty two steps that it took to get to my office from the main entrance. I needed a new hobby other than counting the steps I walked every day. It was unhealthy.

What I walked into was unexpected in the most unsettling way. My office was barren, save for the desk and Dr. Ross sitting in my seat. His mustache twitched at me in disapproval. I dropped my satchel by the door, taking uneasy steps to the lone chair in front of my desk. The tables had been turned.

"Care to tell me what this is, Finley?"

A cracked syringe slid onto the table, yellow-green droplets staining the white wood. My throat tightened and my heart stopped beating. I could tell him what that was. I knew exactly what it was. It was one of my little things of venom.


	3. Walk on Vanity Ruins

A/N: You guys are fucking awesome. Thanks for the follows and favorites! Keep it up.

I stayed silent awhile, mulling over the possible answers. It hurt to breathe. How did he even find that? There was a loose end somewhere, probably losing his shit over how screwed I was. I swallowed and raised my chin, trying my damndest to keep my eyes from looking at the evidence on my desk. Scratch that, my old desk. Because I had a feeling that after this conversation, I would be jobless.

"It looks like, but I may be wrong, a syringe filled with what looks like green piss."

That definitely wasn't the best way to answer that and I pinched myself for it. My horrible habit of becoming a smartass is tight situations would be the end of me. Dr. Ross' eyes blazed at my answer, his mustache twitching uncontrollably. I pressed back in my seat like a cornered puppy, trying to find an exit.

"That's not the answer I was looking for. This was found at a crime scene, Finley. Scene of what looked like a suicide, but I'm thinking assisted suicide. Or homicide. It has your damn fingerprints all over it. The cops aren't here, because they currently have bigger issues than a doctor with homicidal tendencies and sticky fingers. That being said, here I am, trying to put the pieces of this fucked up puzzle together."

"Y-You've known me for…for eight years! I was your intern. I'd never kill someone. Dr. Ross, come on. I have no reason, I don't even like confrontation. I wouldn't take a life." Sweat poured down my neck, trailing down my back. I wiped at my forehead, fighting the angry tears that threatened to flow from my eyes. 'Framed' was the only word racing through my head. This wasn't happening. It couldn't happen. I had what little family I had left to support. Profit made from my drug sales wasn't enough.

"Can't trust anyone these days, Finley. Masked criminals and vigilantes running around are a problem, yeah, but it's the criminals that live without masks that are the most dangerous. They slip easily into homes, businesses, and apparently even Gotham General just to sow discord."

My mouth hung agape, a single tear sliding down my face. His face never changed. He picked up the broken syringe from the table and stood, pushing his chair back with enough force to crack the wall behind it. My body shook violently and words spewed from my lips without a second thought.

"I have to support my sister! Dr. Ross! For the love of god, I didn't kill whoever it was. I need this job. I-I won't deny that I made the drug, but I never would have killed someone! Damn it, Ross. I-I'm begging you!"

"Get out of my hospital, Finley. You should have thought of your sister before any of this started."

With that being said, he shut the lights off and left, slamming the door behind him. I was left in the dark. Alone. My head tried to wrap around what happened. So many things were left out. Who died and where? I didn't even know where to begin. The cold walls of the room laughed at me, sneering at me with their barren faces. My stomach tightened, my acids reacting violently. My throat dried and I pulled at my hair.

This wasn't happening. No. Selina will kill me. Oh god. Fear overtook me at the thought of Selina and Jen finding out and I heaved violently, vomiting the little food I had consumed that day. I sat up quickly and burst from the room, shoving through the crowded hallways to leave. The crisp night air slapped me in the face, waking me from my panic attack. I had to think this through. I had to go through the recesses of my mind to dig up any possible clue as to how this happened.

I had little to no enemies. Back in the school yard days, I had enemies, but I doubt little Mikey Walker held a grudge even if I had blatantly rejected him. No. This was serious. I had made an enemy. Miranda Tate. It made sense. Shit didn't the fan until she showed up and brought hellfire with her. But how could I prove that? She had the advantage. My drugs were in that dead person's bloodstream. They'd trace it back. But what had bothered me ever since Ross said anything was the hospital's shortages. Selina was my courier and she'd hit every hospital besides Gotham General, specifically. She and I were smarter than that.

Those men from earlier. The strange soldiers. They were involved. But how? I couldn't think with this horrifying epiphany revolving around Miranda Tate. I had to get home. I needed help. I needed Batman. I needed Selina.

I don't remember getting into the car, but somehow I had made it home. My hands shook as I fumbled with the door. The building was eerily quiet and the silence penetrated my ears. With a shove, I opened the door and quickly turned to close it and close the bolt. I rested my forehead against the door, my chest heaving with heavy sighs. I had to think, clear my mind. I slid my hand along the wall, finding the light switch and flicking it on.

My hand never finished the motion, a rough hand grabbing my childlike hand and twisting my arm behind my back. A scream fought its way up my throat, but another hand gripped my jaw without care to keep me from screaming. I pushed my foot against the door, pushing back with all the force I could muster. The body behind me fell back from the sudden movement and jostled me loose. I fell on top of him and rolled over instantly. Pushing up from the floor with my hands, I dove over the assailant. I didn't make it far for his hand shot up and grasped my coat, pulling me back.

"Get the hell off me, motherfucker!" I kicked back at the man's face and he swore at me, voice thick with a foreign accent. I dashed to the farthest wall, pulling open the drapes that covered the single window in my apartment. I needed light. I needed to see. Maybe with the light, I'd have a slim chance of getting out of here. I gave a small smile at the fact that the man's nose was busted and bleeding, but I had little time to celebrate my victory. I was in danger, fight or flight. I glanced to the card table in the middle of the room. My package was gone. He had to have it.

My hand found the handle of my kitchen knife and I wielded it in front of me as the man stood and shook the blood off his face. He eyed my knife and smirked without care. With his size compared to mine, I presented little threat. He feigned a lunge and I struck out at him, but he pulled back. He was toying with me. My muscles shook with adrenaline and fear. Sweat streamed down my forehead, stinging my eyes. I blinked a second too long and my error was met with his body diving for my knees. Contact was made and I cried out, bringing my knife down. The blade tore the flesh of his back, blood coating my hands and making them slick. He grabbed my neck and stood up, my feet kicking at him. My adrenaline was wearing off and my body putting forth little fight. Teeth bared and his eyes blazing, he pulled his fist back. His fist met the side of my head and my vision blurred, a weak insult escaping my lips.

"You're a tough bitch, but you will break." His voice mocked me and his fist pulled back again, striking me once more. The lights went out.

Was that…drilling I heard? My body convulsed, but I was constricted. Where the fuck was I? I was draped over a moving body's shoulder. I could tell that much from the jerky movements. The drilling became louder as we neared wherever my kidnapper was bringing me. Voices hushed as we passed. I couldn't see a damn thing. I was in some kind of body bag or wrapped up in some kind of blanket. I shifted my hands, but found them to be zip-tied. My feet were kept free, but they were little use to me.

Once the drilling roared overhead, the drills stopped and all was quiet. I didn't like the quiet and I didn't like that I couldn't see. I also didn't like how my face itched against the cloth and that I was fighting back a sneeze. Overall? I was pissed. My body was shifted and I was in what seemed like the air before I was dropped carelessly.

"God damn it, you piece of sh-"

I was cut off by my body being rolled out of the blanket. The light was harsh to my eyes after being accustomed to the dark for so long. I was facing the man who had assaulted me. Water roared to the right of me. Was I underground? A stale smell of polluted water invaded my senses. My eyes came to focus and more men came into vision. They were all dressed similarly. Like men about to go to war.

Their eyes were looking at what resided behind me. My mind was telling my body to move. To not look defeated in front of these assholes, but I bit my lip to stifle a cry as my stiff muscles ached to an ungodly degree. The man I recognized stepped forward and pulled me up by my short hair, bringing me to my knees and turning so I faced whatever it was everyone else was looking at. With my chin tilted down, I refused to pick my eyes up. The assailant gripped my hair tighter, pulling my head up.

"The doctor. As you asked."

The soldier let go of my hair and I finally let my eyes trail up along the concrete floor. My heart raced as I finally looked upon whoever he had addressed. He was massive. His physique would have been beautiful if I hadn't have practically been shitting myself over his size. His stomach was muscled and his chest was broad and muscular, his shoulders bulging with muscle. My eyes kept moving up, my brow furrowing in confusion. Covering the majority of his face was some metal mask and his heavy breathing reverberated through the contraption. Pipes were in place of where his mouth should have been and it was unsettling to look at.

All that was left uncovered of his face were his eyes. Dark and swirling with an unknown emotion. The way he looked at me made me feel entirely inadequate and I stopped breathing, my eyes never leaving his as he moved forward. His muscles shifted as he stepped forward, the ground beneath him shaking at his steps. I was in the captivity of a giant and I would be lying if I said I wasn't terrified. He moved with grace, yet power. He was a destroyer of worlds and he knew it. He walked with confidence and he demanded attention.

He stopped a step away from me and I let out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding. I looked down at anywhere but him. He shifted his weight and crouched down before me, the shadow his body casted falling over me. My eyes looked back onto him and I gasped at how close his face was. His dark eyes burned into me, the green of his eyes blazing. They were beautiful, but deadly. It hurt to look at him, but I recognized something in those eyes. A latent, but heavy pain.

He stayed that way for a moment longer before his eyes lit up with amusement. He tilted his head up and looked towards my captor, his eyes inquisitive.

"My, you look worse than she does. Did she kidnap you?"

His voice was bizarre, but all male. Deep and all-encompassing. This was an intelligent man I was dealing with. My head fell, my neck straining to hold it up any longer. My body slumped forward, tired and weak. My bottom rested on the back of my calves, my chest rising irregularly at my erratic breathing. The man behind me shifted uncomfortably.

"However, I do recall specifically telling you to be careful with her. Showing her such an improper welcome has no doubt tarnished her view of us. She has a purpose here, or have you forgotten?"

A pin could have dropped at how dead silent the room turned. Even the water seemed to become silent at this massive man's voice. His body shifted and he stood, walking around to the man behind me.

"But Bane, s-she had stabbed me. What else could I have done?"

"The question now is what can you do, but fortunately, I hold the answer. You can do nothing."

_Snap._ Behind me a body hit the floor and my shaking stopped. I moved forward on my hands and knees. Sluggish and wobbly. My flight stimulus was telling me to go, to get away from this monstrous man. The large man stalked behind me as I crawled forward. He was mocking me, moving as slowly as I was. I groaned in pain and frustration before my body gave up on me and I fell forward, onto my broken and bleeding face. A large hand, _his _hand, gripped my shoulder and turned me onto my back. His hand moved from my shoulder to the front of my dirty scrubs, gripping the fabric before slowly lifting me and bringing me to his height. My weight was nothing to him.

"It's rude to try and leave without even trying to figure out the reasoning for you being here in the first place. Come, Dr. Finley Robinson, we have much to discuss."

A/N: I'm not sure how I feel about the way I wrote Bane. I wish we could have seen more of him in the movie. Anyways, please review and let me know what you think!


	4. Night Whispers

**A/N: Holy shark repellant Batman, I love you guys. Your insightful reviews really inspire me. Keep it up. This chapter will be short and from Selina's POV. I'm putting this out to kinda fill in some places while I work on the big chapter: Bane and Finley's first contact. So please, enjoy!**

An entire two days and no word from Finn. Something wasn't right and Jen began to worry. She was more worried than I was, but then again, I grew up an only child. It was painful watching her hold onto the only picture she had of her older sister. Old and fraying, the picture was currently the only family Jen had. I had to laugh at the picture though. Gotham High School Prom during Finley's senior year. With her red flapper dress and short hair, she looked like she had come straight out of the roaring twenties. The blonde was leaning against her family's apartment door, right foot propped against the wood and her arms crossed over her small chest. My lips twitched at the corners. Finley hadn't changed much with her cool aloofness, but her sass had left her and what was left was a cold husk of a person.

As much as I liked to seem indifferent to her, I cared for Finley more than I would like to admit. And that care brought me to putting my suit on and pouncing from my apartment window. Finn lived only a couple blocks away in a dingy building that even made _me_ a bit twitchy. The shadows clung to me as I moved between buildings and alleyways, avoiding beggars and thugs. Gotham City was becoming restless at night, more than usual. The unfortunate were roaming in groups, forming en masse. That wasn't my concern. My concern was Finn. She couldn't protect herself, even with all of her intelligence. In Gotham, a gun or a blade was mightier than the mind.

I avoided the front of the building, opting instead for climbing up the side of the building. I found her window from memory and pulled up. The window stuck, not budging no matter how hard I pulled up. That was wrong. She had always kept her window unlocked for me. My breath hitched and I hit a small switch on my belt. A signal was relayed to receptors at the tips of my gloves, sharp claws coming out with a short '_click'_. Despite being a raging ass, Daggett provided me with some intense gear. I had a suspicion that would be his downfall.

With practiced precision, I carved a circle in her window. She wouldn't mind, right? This was all for the sake of saving her life. With a casual toss, I got rid of the glass and reached in, finding the latch and pulling it up. Shoving the window up, I rolled in, landing gracefully on all fours. I crinkled my nose. The room stank of bleach. I was in the middle of a crime scene that someone tried to horribly cover up. Her card table was broken, glass scattered everywhere. Nothing I could tell directly was taken. Beeps came from the answering machine on her floor, damn near broken. I stood up and crept forward, checking that the machine wasn't rigged before clicking the button.

"Finley, it's Ross. I…I wanted to apologize for earlier. I know you wouldn't kill anyone, at least I'd hope not…Anyway, I'm calling because I have some good news. Unfortunately I can't offer you your job back, but a colleague of mine has a job proposal for you. He's heard about you. Said he'd pay you big bucks for it. Do you know, Mr Dagget?"

FUCK. I crushed the answering machine. If Daggett was involved, Finley was in deep shit. As much as I needed to have a friendly conversation with Daggett, I had to be smart. Outright confronting him could mean Finn's death. I had to think of her. After minutes of thinking about it, I came to one conclusion. I was going to have to stop by the hospital.

Dr. Ross was more skittish than I thought he would be. He jumped at the sight of me in his office. I couldn't blame him. Figure all dressed in black, just waiting for him. Especially in this city. I put on my sweetest smile, sulking towards him with lidded eyes. He pressed back against his office door, eyes wide and chin quivering.

"Hi sweetie. Don't look so scared, I don't bite. Much."

With grace, I lunged towards him, catching his throat with a clawed hand. He barked out but I was quick to cover his mouth. The last thing I needed was interference. Teeth bared, I leaned into his neck, breathing hotly into his ear. I rolled my eyes at his evident arousal. Men.

"I'm giving you a minute to tell me what Daggett wants with Finley. If you bullshit me, you lose your balls."

Typically I wasn't this vulgar, but this was Finley I was inquiring about. She was my one of my only friends, whether or not she would ever admit it. I moved my head back to look at the doctor, watching for any signs of him about to do anything stupid. His body eased up and I released his mouth, but kept a steady grip on his throat, claws threatening to tear his skin.

"H-He heard about her skills. Something about treating his mom's cancer. It's all I know, I swear."

"Didn't I tell you that I would know whether or not you were lying? His family is dead." I propped a leg up and slammed it on his foot, digging my heel in. He cried out but I shushed him. God, he was blubbering all over my hand now. Disgusting.

"You have thirty seconds to stop lying."

"H-He wants her drugs. The venom she sells. He needs it for someone working for him. Masked guy, big hulking brute. I-I can't remember his name. Please, don't tell him I told you. He'll kill me."

"Oh, you're secret is safe with me sugar."

I grabbed his head and leaned in, before slamming his face into the wall next to his door. He went out like a light. Pathetic. Kicking his body, I smirked at his slack body. That was for you, Finn. I had to get going before someone came looking for him. As I crept through the vents of the hospital, I formulated a plan. The next time I would see my good friend Daggett would be in a couple days after the Bruce Wayne job. Oh Daggett baby, will I have a surprise for you.

**A/N: I included some of Selina's character quirks/attributes from Arkham City, since she's one BAMF in that game. If this bothers anyone, please let me know. Anyway, did anyone else cry big bitch tears when** **they read about Christian Bale visiting the hospital in Colorado? What a lovely man. Moving on, PLEASE REVIEW.**


	5. Burn the Obedient

A/N: A double post for today. Were back to Finley and I think you guys have been waiting for this. This was brewing in my head all day, trying to fit the perfect dialogue. However, I still don't feel entirely satisfied. Alas, nothing is perfect. Anyway, please let me know what you think. I may be a little off on some of the details of Bane's clubhouse. It's a bit difficult without the source material in front of me. Sorry about the certain errors in grammar!

The man they called Bane carried my small frame with him to a place he deemed appropriate for our discussion. I was stock still over his shoulder as he carried me, my heart thumping uncontrollably against him. His followers looked on, expressionless. Were they so used to beaten women being paraded through their hideout that they had become desensitized to the sight? I shuddered at the thought.

I felt every movement of his muscles as he thundered through his own Rome, a Caesar to the unfortunate. The constant tension and relaxation of his body. Smooth muscle gliding over bone, all danger and ruthless power. I would have been terrified, but my body had become so numb to the abuse that I refused to feel anything. The pounding of his boots had become a rhythm that beat on and on in my head. A familiar rhythm. He, Bane, walked to the rhythm of war drums.

The war drums stopped when he arrived at whatever he deemed worthy of our conversation. My back met gently with cold concrete and my body shook on impulse. I whimpered at the pain that wracked my body. I curled in on myself, straining to bring my knees into my chest to warm myself. He pulled me up roughly, placing me so my body sat slack against the wall. My eyes slid about the room, looking at anywhere but him. We were on a lower level of his complex, quite a distance away from the others I assumed lived down here. There was the recognizable cascade of water in the center of where we were, but that wasn't what caught my eye.

A makeshift hospital room was set up. A bed, IV's, scalpels… Everything I would think a doctor like me would need. _A doctor like me._ Realization struck me and I looked back to the man who stood over me, arms crossed over his broad chest. He watched me as I stepped through every phase of horrible realization. Questioning what I had just realized. Disbelief in what it was I had realized. And paranoid fear at the thought. Despite how dry my throat was, I found my voice.

"What kind of sick…I don't even. Who are you peo-?" My voice sounded weak and small even to me, so I could only imagine how the giant perceived this small creature that was Finley Robinson before him.

"You graduated from a university, Dr. Robinson. Use your words. I had the highest hopes we would be having an intelligent conversation."

"You're not here to converse with me; you're here to ask something of me."

"Asking you gives you the option to deny me. No, doctor, I am commanding you."

He crouched down so he was to my level, his eyes never leaving mine. I squirmed under his gaze, my nails scratching at the concrete in a feeble attempt to get away. He was crowding me, effectively unnerving me. He knew what he was doing, whereas I was melting down before him. This man, Bane, was all control. Me on the other hand? I was a torn wire on the fritz.

"That mask…is it keeping you alive?"

"Good, you're drawing conclusions. My mask keeps me alive, the same as your mask keeps you alive."

"What are you talking about?"

I furrowed my brow, my lip curling in an expression of tired confusion. Exhaustion weighed down on my eyes, but I kept them open. Why? I was afraid of what would happen in the shadows that crept through this place, waiting to sneak up and destroy the vulnerable.

"Dr. Robinson is your façade. You masquerade hour to hour, day by day. However the clay is chipping away, giving sight to your true face."

His bizarre amplified accent gave a strange lilt to his speech that bled with wisdom and a bitterness that couldn't be kept hidden. His words tore at me, breaking through my defenses and exposing me to the harshness of reality. He was picking at my brain, pulling at the nerves to incite a reaction from me. I broke eye contact and he made an amused sort of humming sound.

"Your mask is failing you too though, isn't it? That's why I'm here."

A sardonic smile sparked in his eyes, his brow raised at the idea that I was finally catching on. I had a slow start, but once I made it, I would meet him toe to toe.

"I was pondering over when your public education would become evident. It isn't the mask itself that is failing. That is where you are wrong."

It was the aerosol variant of a painkiller that was failing him. The moment he started speaking, I already knew. An underlying pain to his voice became aware to me before. When he spoke to my assailant earlier, his breath had hitched for the tiniest fraction of a section, but even in all my fear I had caught it. I could easily identify a man in pain, being that it was part of my old job description.

"Anesthetics aren't as powerful…in aerosol form…as they are in a liquid or solid. They are meant to be injected intravenously, that's how they are most effective. You could have easily obtained morphine or something similar, done it yourself."

"My hands are not those of a medical practitioner, doctor. These are the hands of a destroyer and a creator. The hands of an everlasting idea."

"You're Tate's friend. The one she spoke of."

"Yes. _Miranda's _friend."

The way he said her name, with such animosity and repugnance…I didn't know how to perceive it. I struggled to sit up, but instead leaned my head back. My eyes slid shut, the exhaustion and stress of the day weighing down on my bruised eyes. It was all too much. This information overload would ruin my head. Out of the darkness in my mind, his hand shot out, grasping my throat. I reared back, striking my head on the concrete wall. This was all too familiar. I had this same asphyxiation sensation eight years ago at the hands of a masked thug. A clown.

The hand gripping my throat tightened, threatening to take away my oxygen with a mere squeeze. My legs struck out at the brute, but he remained stoic. He released me as soon as he garnered my attention, his dark eyes flitting to me throat. It was almost as if he were inspecting it, checking for damages. I cowered from him as my body relaxed and I fought back the memories of pain that I had told myself were suppressed. I was horribly wrong.

"Do not close your eyes when I am speaking to you. I'm as far from finished with you as I can possibly be."

"Just tell me what you want! Enough with the damn psych evaluations."

My fury resorted in a chortle. A strange sound to come from such an opposing figure. He stood, gripping my shoulder so I would rise with him. He brought me with him as he moved sauntered across the room. He placed me at the faux lab table he had set up. My eyes ran over tubes and beakers. Everything was there. The hydromorphone, morphine, the small bags of cocaine I used, even the razors to evenly distribute lines. They even threw in the green dye I used to differentiate my drug from others. Did they know of its highly addictive nature? Of course they did. They knew everything.

"A sense a feel of familiarity coming from you, Dr. Robinson. These are the tools you used to build your home, to rebuild the life that had been blown apart at its very foundation. The tools that kept you alive for years. How will they serve you now?"

"You're placing a lot of trust in a woman you just had taken from her home."

"I hold your life in my palm, as you hold mine in yours. In the weeks to come, our hands will tighten, enclosing the other in an encompassing and asphyxiating darkness. Do you have trust in the strength of your grip?"

I didn't answer him, even as he moved to the hospital bed. Even as he settled and the bed protested at his weight. Even as he watched me quake at the table. This man had managed to breach everything I held locked and barred inside of me, forcing me to question my existence. His eloquent poetic speech clawed at me, drawing me towards, yet away from him. His amplified breathing rubbed at my nerves and my hands were shaking as I tried to piece together the glass that had been my life. The glass he had taken in that burly palm of his and crushed into tiny fragments. Fragments that all seemed to form one thing. A lie.

"Honor should be coursing through your veins, filling you with ambition and drive. You are keeping alive an idea. There is a fire rising, Finley Robinson. Will you allow it to consume you or will you thrive in it?"

A/N: I spent hours thinking of shit Bane could possibly say. That man is a interesting specimen. Bravo, Tom Hardy. You captured me with your eyes better than an actor can with their full face showing. As always, tell me what you think!


	6. Breathe

His presence was a hard one to ignore as I worked. I tried to lose myself in the complexities of chemical equation and dosage, but it was a difficult to gauge what he could handle without height and weight. I could've taken a guess at his weight just by how heavy his stare was. He had the bed placed in close proximity to the table I sat at. Propped up against ragged pillows, he watched and waited like a wolf. I had the feeling he would bark at any speculation of foul play. Smart man.

"It's difficult to finish a task when your mind isn't focused on it."

"It's difficult to finish fucking anything while being stared at."

I turned my head towards him as I straightened the lines of cocaine, my eyes narrowed to grey slits. My extreme annoyance was outweighing my fear, along with my work habits. I had this habit of losing myself in my work, detaching myself from the world and retreating to my own. With him just a foot away from here, I had trouble losing myself anywhere without him dragging me back. He seemed less than amused by my response.

"A proper woman wouldn't speak the way you do."

"I was only 'publicly educated', remember? Surely you must have a higher education than I do."

"My education didn't derive from a failing system. I educated myself by doing what so little people do today; reading books with substance. Life experience as well. That's what public education fails to provide. A worthy experience."

I set the razor blade down, my head aching at the anger that rose in my chest. Bane was making assumptions based off of what? The files he had one of his cronies steal from the hospital? Placing my elbows on the table, I steepled my hands and rested my forehead against them. This past day had exceeded my lifetime anger achievement by an unfathomable amount. I lifted my head once more, turning my chair to face where he lay. His head moved so his entire face was visible to me and I took in a deep breath, carefully thinking over my words.

"While I admire the fact that you educated yourself, bravo to you, I'd like it if you didn't make assumptions about me based off of the things you _read._"

The way he sat up startled me and I flinched back in response, holding onto the flimsy table beside me. I should've known better than to ask something of him. He swung his cargo-pant covered legs over the side of the bed, his arms braced on either side of his thighs. He bowed his head ever slightly, his eyes shutting for the tiniest fraction of a second before flying open once more.

"You have a burning spirit for someone shrouded in apathy. It is a nice deviation from my current companions."

I blinked at the shirtless man, who had silenced me with just a few words from lips hidden behind a mask. With that, he departed and I watched him leave. Not once did he turn back. I stayed staring at the way he left for quite some time, trying to comprehend what just happened. Did he in some weird and creepy way admit that he enjoyed my being here? Did he just call me a companion? It hadn't even been two days. What an odd person. I turned back to the lines of that decorated the table like a field of snow covered hills. The way Gotham looked in the snow was beautiful and the park in the rich part of town was no exception. It was a sick notion to be reminded of something beautiful while looking at something so awful.

Taking a razor in one hand and a beaker filled with hydromorphone in the other, I slid the crushed coke powder inside the glassware. Setting the beaker down with a small clink, I lifted the other beaker that haphazardly labeled 'morphine'. Using the dropper they gave me, I placed three drops of morphine inside the hydro-coke mix and waited for it to settle with heavy eyes.

"You ought to be careful with that razor, sweetheart."

I jumped at the voice, the skin on my wrist stinging. Warm liquid ran down my wrist, pooling in my curved palm, before spilling over and down my fingertips. I swore aloud, pressing my wrist against my knee. Dozing off with a razor in hand would go on my top 'Idiot Finley' moments. I picked my head up to see where the voice had come from, only to see one of Bane's soldiers. He was dressed like the others, but he walked with importance. Must be Bane's first mate. The bullets on his vest, which I recognized from a customer of mine that was a gun enthusiast, were massive sniper rounds. He shook his head at me, clicking his tongue in disapproval.

"Told ye. Now you got your blood all over the floor."

"It doesn't matter."

"You don't hold your life in high regard, do ye sweetness?"

I refused him answer, taking the same razor I accidentally cut myself with to my pants. Tearing off a strip, I tied it over the wound. Good lord, I was breeding rather unnecessarily for a small cut. The soldier stood over me, blue eyes holding me in place.

"Are you finished yet?"

Fighting the stinging pain in my wrist, I turned away from him and grabbed the dropper filled with green dye. In no time, the mix inside the beaker was a lime green. The man stood, hovering over me as I finished. The venom was ready. He didn't wait for me to even say anything, he just grabbed my upper arm and dragged me with him. My muscles cried in agony, tears welling up and blurring my vision. My attempts to keep pace with him were sorry at best. So, for the third time in the last twenty four hours, I was dragged like a sad puppet. Or so they would believe me to be.

"Oi Bane, she finished."

Here I was again, in the same place I had crawled on my hands and knees away from the one I was expected to heal. I scowled, not liking the feel of this man's hands on me. Mustering what little strength I had, squirming away. The soldier chuckled and backed off into a steady growing crowd of Bane's "club members". Bane stood up from the seat he had at his cluttered table, his large body moving to stand across from me. His body dwarfed mine. I could see his skepticism grow as I stilled my quivering jaw.

"I will only give you this on one condition."

"You are not in the place to be asking for favors, doctor."

"Yeah, you're right, but this is as good as it's going to get for me. I don't know what you're planning or who you have a grudge against in this city, but I'll only ask one thing of you. Then I'll do whatever you want."

His eyes gleamed with genuine interest. I had surprised him with such forward behavior. I felt crowded from all sides. Hundreds of pairs of eyes glimmered at us, watching us. I was in a pit of wolves. I swallowed the nervous lump in my throat. My asking anything of him was like waving a red flag at a bull. It was a dangerous game to play and I knew it, but I knew the reward if I succeeded. If only I knew the outcome if this was to move sideways on me.

"Of course you'll do whatever I say."

His eyes widened and he stepped forward. For a brief second, his eyes shot down to my bandaged wrist. He 'tsked' at the sight, but made no comment.

"You'll do what I say, because you have no choice in the matter. You are in my domain. These are my shadows you fear. And soon, doctor? Soon my shadows will overtake this city, reaping the souls from your fellow Gothamites with a burning scythe of false hope. I will block out the sun and you will all shrivel away to nothing."

The tears I had been unwilling to shed only moments ago came dripping from my eyes and my wrist ached. He wasn't lying. He wasn't a man of lies, just drastic mood changes. Bane was a man of brutal honesty, not of weak deceit. I closed my eyes and tried my best to cover my ragged breath. I thought of who 'you will all' entailed. Jen. Jen was a part of that. I pictured her becoming dust in the wake of this man's unbridled rage. I couldn't let that happen. Not to her.

I opened my eyes and met his. My knees shook as I knelt before him, the syringe wobbling in my hand. The air stilled. In the matter of a day, I had decided my own fate. I would never admit that he chose this fate for me. Bane would choose nothing for me. My city may not be free from him, but I would be. This gave me power, but this power would do nothing for me. Not yet. I would let him build up his false hope. So I would do what was necessary. I would beg and they would all watch. Let them.

"I won't ask you, because I'm begging you. Leave my sister out of your wrath. Take the city, tear it apart, burn it…I don't care. But leave her out of this. This isn't a matter of pride, I don't have that anymore. You have my life. T-There is no need to take hers. "

"You are willing to play martyr for the sake of this one person?"

Bane's voice raised subtly in pitch as he cast his eyes downward to look at my broken and kneeling body, his forehead creased. I imagined his lips to be turned down into a confused grimace, but I was wrong. This monster's eyes became full of something that took the air from my lungs; **understanding**.

A/N: Here's chapter six. Sorry for the shortness. I promise the next one will be longer and more plot developing. I'm just going to warn you that I won't be able to update as frequently. I work at a comic book store and those bitches are busy in the summer. ALSO, in response to Ashley Dawn's review: I included the Selina Kyle chapter to add another plotline to the story. I wanted to show that this story and its important key factors don't just revolve around and affect Finley, but that they encompass everything. If that makes sense. Anyway, please review and feel free to shared your thoughts. And thanks again everyone for the reviews, favorites, and follows. It means a lot to me, because it motivates me to write, knowing that my work is appreciated. I love you all.


	7. Sonne

A/N: First chapter to go under editing. I would like to thank my BETA, Loretta Lolita, for helping me out. She's great. As always, let me know what you think!

Bane had me brought back down to my 'cell', not saying so much as a word to me after our little barter. He left me down here for two days, only having food and water brought to me along with a plastic bag full of clothes from my home. My skin was pale and dusky, my veins visible underneath my skin. My hair was tangled and knotted, so I gave up on brushing it. I licked at my chapped lips, wincing as I pulled a layer of skin. I'm sure death would have looked better than I did.

That look in his eye never left me, even as I stood over his relaxed form. I had begged in front of him, and it almost seemed to bother him. This was the first time he had been down here in forty eight hours since I pleaded in front of him; since he had obliged me with only silence and a sliver of understanding in his eyes. I didn't care. I had a job to do and it wasn't to doctor this man, but to save my sister. Every injection into his skin was an injection to save her.

The needle was pressed gently into the crook of his elbow, the tip hardly breaking the skin. His eyes were on me, two glittering pits filled with all the emotion of the world. I slid the needle into his flesh and he didn't even budge. I flicked my eyes up to watch his face as I pushed the venom into his veins. Waiting for a violent reaction. Anything. His eyes met mine as his body tensed, the drugs snaking their way through his system. I removed the needle from his skin and moved towards the table, tossing the syringe aside.

"What is this made of?"

I jumped at his reverberating voice. Even after twenty seven years of life, I feared loud and sudden noises. A fear that grew from my childhood into this 'almost phobia' today. I drew in a shaky breath, placing my hands on the table to steady myself. His voice, while elegant in speech, was similar to a tree breaking. Cold took over my skin, shivers running freely up and down my spine. Bane was loud and sudden, so he rightly earned my fear.

"Different things. Morphine, hydromorphone, Tylenol PM, cocaine…"

"For a pain relieving substance, it is peculiar to use an addictive stimulant. Is that how you made a living off of it?"

"Yep."

I gave him a short answer, my face apathetic. I would become stone to this man. On the outside at least, but my insides were turning over themselves at my anxiety. This was going to be a difficult game. I heard his robotic sigh and looked over to see his chest rise at a slightly more elevated rate. No abnormal reactions. I bit my lip. I had put in one more pinch of cocaine than usual, but he was handling it with ease.

"You are a master of your craft, Dr. Robinson. Ms. Tate did well in seizing you."

_Miranda Fucking Tate…_

My organs clenched, the bile in my stomach rising like a furious tide at the mere sound of her name. My hands clenched and unclenched, my nails biting into my skin.

"I'm not a doctor anymore. I was a couple days ago, but not anymore. Not after your friend wedged her way into my life, fucking me over. And she did a damn good job fucking me over."

My stone casing cracked and I snapped at him, my hand gripping the table with enough force to make my scabbed over wrist start bleeding once more. Any mention of my previous career just made me think of that abhorring Miranda Tate-how she ruined my life with a conversation. I hated that woman with a rage that made my blood boil. I wanted to smite her where she stood and I wanted to be there when her life was ruined. I wanted to pull the carpet from under her, just to see her fall like I did.

"We have given you a greater purpose. Once that purpose has been fulfilled, you will understand."

_He can't be serious. This isn't a greater purpose. This is a prison sentence._

"What greater purpose? Doctoring a man who wants to blow up a city full of people who haven't done shit to him is her idea of a greater purpose?"

"I am more than a man. I'm the instrument of her idea and of Gotham's destruction. That is what you are doctoring."

His voice was matter of fact, as if I should have known that since the day I was born. There was a lilt to his voice that reminded me of how I was mocked as a child for not knowing things. My skin heated at the thought.

"Oh, so you're her pawn and she's the black queen in this appalling game of chess? Is that what you're telling me?"

He sat up and lunged forward, wrapping his fingers easily around my throat. My eyes bulged out of my sockets and my lungs screamed for air. I helplessly clawed at his hand to lessen his grip, but with the venom coursing through his veins, I was on a hopeless mission. Despite the drugs increasing his already hard to measure strength, he managed to restrain himself from collapsing my throat.

This was bad; I had poked the bear and _god damn_ was it an angry one. His eyes were wide with unbridled rage and if I thought I had been afraid before, that was nothing compared to how I felt now. I couldn't look away, no matter how much I wanted to close my eyes just to leave this place. Veins pulsed underneath his skin and he held me in place, his arm shaking from restraint.

"Watch your tongue, Finley. Or you will lose it and never be able to speak again."

He released me without care and I fell to my knees, my lungs fighting to gain air. Wait. That look of understanding he had given me. That faint glimmer in his eye when I had knelt before him, trading my life for another's. I had done it not out of some self righteous need, but because I loved my sister.

I had underestimated how he felt for that woman.

"You love her."

He moved away from me, a hulking and sorrowful beast. Bane didn't need to answer me; his silence was his answer. I rubbed at my neck, the imprint of his hand still fresh on my skin. He stood near the water, arms resting by his side and his back to me. Even in this light, I could see the angry scars that decorated his skin. He had been through hell and back. Bane was almost sad to look at.

"Watch your accusations" His voice boomed over the cascading water "Or I will destroy you."

My chest caved and bitter ice swam through my veins. He turned to look at me with scorn and resentment, his bulky arms folded over his chest. The background noise along with the tense silence that permeated between us was interrupted by the pounding of boots on concrete. The man from earlier, Barsad I believe was his name, rushed in. Bane looked to him in earnest.

"Daggett has Wayne's prints, but his man was roughed up by the thief. She asked about the doctor."

I furrowed my brow, a look of utter confusion on my face. Who was Daggett? Thieves? Who asked me about me? What was going on?

_Selina…_

"Who asked about me? What was her name?"

"Hell if I know, doc. Just the woman that Daggett has employed. A pretty little thing. Smarter than Daggett, I reckon."

"Outsmarting Daggett isn't a difficult feat. We make our move tomorrow. As for you, Finley…you are to be moved." Bane spoke up, advancing towards Barsad. He stopped by the bed where his vest and coat lay, shouldering them on.

"Barsad, take her and her things. You know where to go. I will see you again, Finley."

I had no say in the matter as Barsad removed a bag from his shoulder, taking everything off of the table and placing them in various compartments. It was to be my mobile chemistry set. Bane made his leave, his footsteps like thunder and I shivered once more. I sat still as Barsad worked, throwing my things into the bag. He had made a comment when he first brought my things down that I had more t-shirts and sweatpants than I did food. He also had apologized, although not in an obvious manner, for hurting me when he had drug me the night I finished Bane's first dosage. In a casual way, we had become used to each other these past two days.

He took my arm carefully this time, leading me up the winding path. We passed by the men, women, and children that Bane took in. They watched us with quivering silence and it was unsettling. I knew some of these desolate faces and their eyes lit up with recognition. We all came from the same unforgiving place. They had been my people, but they were now Bane's. They had joined with him, because they saw him as their messiah. To lead them to a place where hope sprang eternal.

Bane had drive and conviction. He could lead these people, but to what? He was leading them to false hope and a certain death. My chest hurt at the thought.

Barsad led us to one of the openings of Gotham's subway systems. Five dirt bikes leaned against each other, each padlocked. Unlocking one, he pulled it away from the others. Kicking the kickstand up, he sat down and directed me to sit down behind him. He held his hand out to me as I sat, a helmet hanging from his crooked fingers.

"Put it on."

I shook my head at him and he frowned before giving up and strapping it over his head. I didn't want my view of the city obstructed. When it turned to ash, I wanted to be able to remember it the way it was. I held onto Barsad as he kickstarted the bike and revved away, zipping out of the subway access and onto the streets of Gotham. The light was blinding after having been in the dark for so long. The city was beautiful during all the seasons, but in sun…It was second to none. I couldn't look anymore and I buried my face into Barsad's back.

With the way he defied traffic laws, we made it to our destination in record time. The building was large, but small in comparison to Wayne tower. Barsad parked the bike inside the complex's parking garage and led me to the elevators. I stepped in first and he followed, pressing the button for the thirty fourth floor. There was an awkward silence as we sat in the elevator. He was still wearing his helmet and I found a small smile sneaking onto my chapped lips. The door 'dinged' open and he led me out, a hand on my shoulder. The building was modernly lush. Dark wood and geometrically shaped furniture adorned the hallways. It all looked so disgustingly expensive and unnecessary that it gave me the urge to break it all.

"I'll warn ye, this guy is a bit of a tool."

With that, he knocked on an oversized wooden door. A sharp dressed man with perfectly cropped black hair answered the door with his nose in the air at us. His sharp eyes looked over me with disapproval and I scowled at him. I wasn't much to look at, but he didn't have to be a dick about it.

"He's been expecting you. Come inside, Dr. Robinson."

He said my name with disgust and I puffed up with annoyance, but Barsad squeezed my shoulder a bit to harshly to keep me in my place. I was to be a guest in this man's home. I didn't even notice that Barsad had left until a cold shiver ran through my being. I stepped awkwardly in, my two bags in my arms. The man clicked his tongue at me, quickening his pace as he led me through the penthouse. He rapped three times on yet another door, waiting for the affirmative to enter from whatever lay inside. The swung open and a feminine giggle erupted through the opening. I hated that laugh. That fake laugh women give just to bloat the egos of men.

"What is it? I'm busy."

"The doctor is here."

"Oh, is she? Is she attractive and wearing a tight ass dress? If not, I'm going to be disappointed."

The man who opened the door looked disheveled as all get out. His shirt was unbuttoned and half hanging out of his pressed black slacks. His hair was in disarray and he looked less than pleased when he finally looked down at me. His eyes were slimy and uncomforting as they ran over me. I gathered that I had disappointed him.

"Oh. You're Bane's doctor?"

"I'm not his doctor. I'm a prisoner of war, Mr…"

"Daggett. I'll soon be running Wayne Enterprises, so you should probably remember it."


	8. Illuminated

A/N: I edited this chapter, because I felt that Bane revealing such a personal piece of himself came much too early. Don't worry; a similar scene will happen between Bane and Finley, but later on! I want to keep this as well paced as I can.

* * *

Daggett's manservant pushed me into the room and the man Daggett himself stepped out of the way to avoid contact with me. I probably did look and smell rather disgusting. It had been days since I showered and my body reeked of sweat, blood, and sewage. He must not have known how hard it was to find a shower in the damn sewers. My comfort level was substantially low, the woman who had giggled earlier was chuckling at me from her relaxed position on Daggett's couch. I took it that I was in the recreational room with the assortment of…odd things. That was the only way to describe the large sculpture that looked incredibly suggestive in the far corner.

"Can you wash the dog before you bring in the house, darling?"

Her voice grated on my ears, wheezy from chain smoking no doubt. I leered at her, awkwardly standing in the center of the room like a high school outcast who walked in on the popular kids sharing gossip. Their suits and her glitzy dress made me feel naked in my oversized Gotham Rogues shirt and my knockoff brand warm-ups. I was surrounded by corporate vultures and they were ready to eat me; alive or dead. What kind of people had Bane left me with? I'd have to be the bigger bird of prey to these vultures, the inconspicuous kind who tore at their throat in the night.

"That was rude, hon. She's a guest here. A friend of Bane."

Daggett smirked at me as he sat by his whore, her lips resting on his neck. If I wasn't uncomfortable before, I couldn't even begin to say what I was now. His manservant stood guard at the door, his face lacking complete interest.

"Oh, a friend of Bane? How is that going? It's Binley, right?" The woman spoke again, her condescension close to driving me over the edge. She was acting way too gimmicky and that alone made me want to tear her jugular out. Then wear it as an elaborate headdress.

"Actually, it's Finley. I'm not his friend, if I can't make that clear enough."

"I heard he wears the mask, because he's not human. He's like a…robot man."

Was she for real? She couldn't be. This was…wow. I bit back a laugh, because she was already unfortunate without me laughing at her stupidity. Daggett even looked annoyed, but he probably put up with it. I gritted my teeth, tightening my jaw to suppress a flurry of insults. Instead, I opted for the aloof and casual route.

"He's not a robot, he's a person. Same as you and I, flesh and all."

Did I just defend the man who has almost taken my life more than once?

I quickly shook at the thought. No, I wasn't defending his honor. A man who had a woman torn from her home, only to stick him with needles every day, had no honor left. He was a monster using the guise of a man. I looked away from the idiot woman with the obnoxiously fake black hair, massaging at my temples. Extreme frustration, rich assholes, and city skanks gave me terrible migraines.

"He sounds hideous. Must suck to live underground like he does. I can't imagine living in such nastiness," her false eyelashes batted at me teasingly,"But you probably can, huh Binley?"

In most cases, I had remarkable restraint when it came to harming someone, but her….She struck every wrong chord with me and the sounds of fury twanged inside me. It was one thing to insult him when he wasn't even there to defend himself(not that it mattered), but to insult less than desirable living conditions…_my _living conditions… She would regret it. With a deep sigh, I closed my eyes and set my bags down. Once opened, I noticed her catty smile. She was goading me on and Daggett watched on with pompous arrogance.

"I actually can understand living in filth, because I live amongst you people like you," I let my eyes run over her and Daggett just to hit my point home, "You live on top of the shoulders of people who didn't blow their fucking boss to get somewhere."

She stood on wobbly heels, her eyes blurred from the alcohol she no doubt guzzled. I hadn't been in very many physical confrontations, but with all the stress from the past few days…I wanted to hurt something and that something happened to be the thing I despised the most. The rich, drunk off their arrogance and high off the sorrow of others. The suffering of the people in Gotham was their own heroin. And here was an addict, stumbling towards me.

Before I could register my own actions, I had knocked her down and was on top of her. I tore at her face and eyes, only seeing red. I didn't understand what I was doing. My body had been invaded and I stood outside my body, watching myself destroy this woman's face.

I was still spewing profanities, trying to grab at her like an angry capuchin as Daggett's guard pulled me away. Her eyes were bloodshot and puff. Blood oozed down her torn face and into her cleavage. In my fury I had tore her nose studs out, the cartilage hanging like flaps. She was wailing into the couch, blood smeared along Daggett's floor from where she pulled herself.

"Get her out of here, Stryver!"

"Should have listened to that cunt and washed the dog before letting it in the house." I hissed at Daggett, allowing myself to be dragged away from the room. I needed to go before I killed someone.

I spat. I couldn't see, the adrenaline from tearing at her face still pumping through my veins. My hands were warm from her blood and it dripped from my fingers onto his wooden floor. The black haired man who hadn't said a word throughout the entire ordeal dragged me to a room on the farthest end of the penthouse. The room had a lock on the outside, so anything that was kept in couldn't leave. Clever. He shoved me in and I stumbled, falling onto my knees. The two bags I had brought with me struck me in the back, knocking me forward onto the ground. The door shut without another word.

I looked down at my hands, now caked in dried blood.

_What the fuck just happened?_

I reared back at the sight, not familiar with it. I had never struck anyone in my lifetime, not even Jen whenever she stole money from me. That was years before I willingly gave it to her, but that's beside the point. I had torn open a woman's face. Me. Little unassuming Finley Robinson, who some people confused to be a pretty boy, had assaulted an esteemed Gothamite. A sickening sensation of horror swelled in my chest and I crawled toward the room's bathroom, heaving into the marble toilet.

I closed the lid and flushed, resting my sweat drenched face on the cool marble. Daggett's horrified expression was at the forefront of my mind. No one had ever looked at me like that. Ever. I was never an intimidating creature. I stood at a measly three inches above five feet and I was built like a gymnast who had gone a couple months without eating, with small wiry muscle from long forgotten high school sports. I stood up from my pathetic position and tore my clothes off in a rush. My Gotham Rogues shirt was smeared with blood where I had wiped my hands of the woman's blood. Tissue from the muscles in her face poked out from under my fingernails. My stomach lurched at the sight of it.

I pushed aside the shower's sliding glass door and pulled myself in, letting myself rest on the cold shower floor. Setting the water to scalding, I let it rain down on my curled body. I needed to wash the beast I had become away.

I didn't want to be in this place, with these people. I didn't ask to be a part of this bizarre happening. This all happened by horrible circumstance. A phone call that could have been ignored. Did I bring this on myself or was it waiting to happen? Crying over it in a burning shower wouldn't be the solution.

By the time I grew tired of being a sorry sight, the shower water had stopped running brown and began to run clear. The filth was gone from my body, but not from my soul. My body shook unconsciously and I stepped from the shower, pink and shiny and new. My hair looked blond again, instead of an old prison white. As I stood in front of the foggy mirror, I realized something. I hadn't looked at myself in almost four days. Did I recognize the woman in the mirror with the long familiar grey eyes and wispy hair? I didn't know.

How long had I been in the shower? Time had become useless to me. I didn't even have a watch on me before this shit happened, so not much had changed like I thought it had. Wrapping myself in a towel, I stepped out into my room. I gasped and my foot slid back, my hip catching on the door handle. Bane's large figure sat-hunched over on the bed I assumed I would be using. He looked like he had been waiting for quite some time.

"I wondered how long it would take for your mask to break. I am disappointed that it did not last longer."

My body froze. I knew what he was referring to. I flushed, in fear and embarrassment, of being exposed so personally to this…man. He sat up and looked to me from the corner of his eye. I then remembered my state of nakedness and my hand kept an iron grip on the towel that was the only barrier between him and me. My throat clenched and I tried to ignore that his eyes were staying on me and me alone. Despite his prevalent monstrosity, he was still a man. Surely he had needs. I fled back into the bathroom, slamming the door and fumbling with the lock. I pressed my ear against the door, my body shivering like a wet dog. He shifted on the bed and my heart stopped. I heard him resettle himself.

"You fear that I will defile you?"

My stomach clenched at his words.

"I do live in Gotham City," was all I could manage to spit out.

"I am not of this city, Finley." He breathed deeply, sounding almost annoyed at my antics. "I may not be a man of high morals, but I will not defile a woman. My men, however, do not share similar ideals."

I released the breath I had been holding and I slumped against the bathroom wall, my lungs refilling painfully. I stayed where I was, my forehead resting on the door. I wouldn't leave this room, not until he was gone. This bathroom was a protective barrier between me and the man out there who killed so easily and without a second thought. No matter how honest he had been in his actions, I couldn't get over that predatory look in his eye when he loomed over my crawling body the first night I laid eyes on him.

"You will have to exit that bathroom sometime." His voice rumbled jovially. I clenched my teeth when I heard the mattress creak-he'd stood from the bed. "Make it soon," he stepped towards the door, "or I will tear the door," he stepped again, "from its hinges." His steps shook the floor and by then, I knew he was in front of the door. He paused, "Then what will you have to keep yourself hidden from me?"

I lifted my head from the door, a sigh passing through my dry lips. He was right. I would have to leave that bathroom eventually. Being naked and soaking wet was never an ideal combination, so I gathered myself and backed away from the door. I braced myself and unlocked the door, my hands shaking as I held onto the door knob. Bane was sitting straight on the bed, his hands laced and his eyes impatient.

_Was he ever even by the door?_

A deep grumble rose from his throat, his eyes smiling at me.

"It is against common courtesy to slam a door on someone when they are addressing you. It is also against common courtesy to slam someone into a door, but I am willing to make an exception should you show such a lack of courtesy again."

I padded, more like ran, over to my bag of clothes and gracelessly took hold of it, retreating to the bathroom once more to dress myself. I threw clothes on haphazardly, not wanting to be slammed into a door today. Or tomorrow. Or the next day.

"That woman can no longer see."

I returned from the bathroom and I kept myself decently spaced from Bane, my back against the wall farthest from him. Was he…He didn't sound to be kidding. I placed a hand to my mouth and my body slacked, my back sliding down the wall as my bottom hit the carpet roughly. What had I done? That wasn't me. I didn't attack people, because they had trash talked my upbringing. I lived with that on a daily basis, but this torrential downpour of stress… It was the stress I told myself as I heard her howling echoing through my memories, remembering how her cries were fuel to my rage. I didn't understand what I had done. I felt guilt, horror, regret, but somewhere…a black flower of gratification bloomed in my heart.

"I took you to be a healer, doctor, but you have proved me wrong. I found it difficult to believe what you had done, up until the moment I saw the blood that stained your hands."

I had cleaned my hands, hadn't I? My eyes flickered down to my run over my hands. Not a spot of blood. My hands were dirty in a way that couldn't be cleaned. Not even if I tore the skin off.

"Soap and water cannot clean the blood from your hands, but you may scrub away if it sets your mind at ease. How did it feel to tear her apart as if she were nothing? Was it satisfying? Or are you having difficulty in facing the reality that it was indeed you who had committed such a terrible act?"

"Please, can I just leave? I'd feel better if I left."

"Your begging has exceeded its usefulness and it is beneath you. You cannot leave this place and if you would attempt to flee, the consequences for your actions would surely keep you from doing so again."

At this, Bane stood from the bed and advanced toward me. When he wanted to, he could be silent as death. Like he had so many times before, he crouched before me. I flinched back from him, my eyes shutting. From this distance, I could feel the heat coming off of his body. It wasn't a comforting heat, but a suffocating heat. Like that of a devil. Against my will, my eyes opened, meeting his. I froze under his gaze and the bruises that decorated my body began to ache. I hardened my eyes, attempting to put on a brave face despite how constricted I felt.

"You don't know what is and isn't beneath me. You don't know a thing about me."

"You are wrong on that matter, Miss Robinson. I know of the shadows and darkness that lurk in your heart, because all that is dark belongs to me. You will learn."

My body trembled at the suggestion of his words. He left me once more with too many questions and not enough answers. I didn't want him to go, I found myself shamelessly admitting. I wanted answers. I beat my head upon the wall. Once, twice. Trying to shake out an answer to everything, but nothing came. Sometime during the night, I had pulled myself toward the bed where his smell lingered. A masculine smell of leather, sweat, and oil. I pulled a pillow onto the floor and cocooned myself in the comforter. I willed my dreams to take me away and for once in the past couple of days, I found myself asleep.

I had slept longer than I had anticipated, but I had been left alone during the evening. I looked up from my prone position, my eyes trying to make sense of the blinking red numbers on the clock. Good god, it was six in the evening. I really had slept longer than I thought. I shifted on the floor, stretching my stiff muscles. They had taken some abuse in the past week.

I threw the blanket from me unceremoniously, taking some time to finally look over the small room. A television was bolted to the wall near the foot of the bed, the screen dusty from years of going untouched. I walked over and found the power button, the screen blinking to life. Huh, some intense chase was going down on Cops. Wait. Hostages? From Gotham's stock exchange? I looked to the screen, the news chopper following three men on motorbikes. Familiar motorbikes.

"What the hell is he doing?"

I recognized the mountains he called shoulders, clothed in a dark jacket made for motorcycle riding. I couldn't take my eyes away, watching him weave in and out of traffic with complete disregard. Three of his men followed him. The news chopper turned its spotlight to something else. Something large, black, and fast. It looked like a massive puma to my eyes, but I was quickly proved mistaken. A new subtitle popped up on Gotham's news channel screen: _**The Return of Batman?**_

An awkward snort of amusement and unadulterated glee escaped me. This was the man who saved my life many years ago, but it seemed like yesterday that he had taken the duct tape off my hands. He only said a few words to me, but that was more than enough. The Batman was after Bane. Bane was a monster, yes, but Batman was something else entirely. He could destroy monsters.

I sat back on the bed, my knees pulled to my chest. I didn't know what to make of this. Bane. Batman. Both on the same screen, both fighting for different ends of the spectrum. I didn't want to watch anymore. I clicked the screen off with the remote I found and settled for something else to occupy myself with. My hands found themselves doing the old familiar dance of combining chemicals. I had a feeling, in the recesses of my mind, that Bane would need the venom after a dance with Batman.

The routine was the same. Pour liquid, cut powder, and syringes. I had built up a momentum and by the time my door handle turned, I had already made three. I turned to the door from my position at the desk that was tucked in the corner, my heartbeat fluttering. The door was being picked. I snatched a razor in my hand, standing from my seat. A gloved hand, a feminine hand, snuck in through the doors crack before slowly opening the door. A masked face, a familiar one. I could spot those big brown eyes in a heartbeat. The big brown eyes that widened with surprise and became filled with comforted relief.

"Selina!"


	9. Pet

_**Selina**__._

"_Selina! You're tickling my damn cornea!"_

"_Once I'm done, we'll be the hottest girls in Gotham and Susan Crawford can eat it."_

"_We're going to my senior prom. Illegally. You dropped out like two years ago."_

"_I'll be the hot new teacher, they'll never know."_

_I shook my head at Finley. The girl needed to have fun and crashing prom was my perfect idea of fun. Finley fidgeted as I coated her lashes in mascara, her grey eyes popping from the thick ring around her eyes. The girl was pretty in an inconspicuous way, I was just helping her out. With a flick of my wrist, she was completed. I looked over my work and gave a fake choking sob._

"_Stop frowning at me and just look at yourself, will you?"_

_The blond kept her grimace until she looked at herself in the mirror. A smirk crossed my lips as she looked over herself, tilting her head this way and that. She was pleased, but she'd never admit it. Finn had a habit of never saying she liked things. If anyone could get it out of her, they'd earn my respect._

"_I can't be mad at you for torturing my face, Selina. I look pretty…fuckable."_

_She turned from the cracked bathroom mirror to look at me, the faintest of smiles on her bright lips. God, that was like a unicorn sighting. I helped her into her dress when we went back into our bedroom, zipping the back up. I picked the dress up from a store in downtown Gotham. It still even had the tag on it. Finley knew it was stolen, but made no comment. Half the things in our shabby apartment were stolen. _

"_Finny, that's a bad word."_

"_Shit, you're right Jen! Finn shouldn't cuss."_

_Little Jen was probably the cutest damn eleven year old there ever was. She was still the same tiny size she had been at age eight. Her hair floated around her head like an amoeba and she never bothered to brush it. Finley quirked a brow at my brazen use of cussing. Jen already could cuss for every letter of the alphabet, so we didn't even care anymore. It was just us three girls here, who was there to tell on us?_

"_If we're going to be on time, we need to go."_

_As we talked, we moved through the apartment. Finn had her odd fidget to her walk, like she didn't exactly know what to do with her hands. By the time she was thirty, she wouldn't have skin on her hands because of her constant wringing. Jen walked us to the door, spraying some perfume on Finn and I's exposed skin. Girl was going to be a champion when she grew up._

_Finn closed the apartment door behind us, leaning back against it and turning her head away from us. Little Jen did her best to hide a sneaky smirk, but I casually winked at her. She pulled out a camera, snapping Finley in her moment of quiet thought. Finn blinked at the flash, her head flicking back toward us. I gave a surprised gasp as Jen hid behind my legs, peering over my waist to look at an agitated Finley._

"_Damn it, Jen. You know I can't handle it when you look at me like a beaten squirrel."_

_Finley smiled and my chest swelled with happiness. There it was. That Finley smile. The older Robinson girl picked up the smaller one. Jen played with her sisters hair and Finley gave a mock frown, worthy of a Sunday paper funny book. Here we were, the three ragtag girls from Old Town, about to tear up the night scene. Nothing could stop us. And looking the way we did? No one would want to._

My breath came short, my mind trying to believe what my eyes were seeing. It was Finley. A breathing Finley. She was alive and looking certainly surprised to see me. Without a second thought, I rushed towards her and giving her the biggest hug two women could manage. She froze at my touch, before gently wrapping her arms around me.

"Oh god, you're alive."

"Yeah, I am, but you're threatening to crush my ribs."

She gave out a wheezy laugh and I pulled away, finally looking her over. She looked defeated. Her skin was whiter than usual and this brought out the bags under her eyes. She flinched when I touched her arms. Faint bruises lined her arms and one stood out prominently on her upper arm, in the shape of a hand. The bruises on her neck were lighter, but still there. I heated at the sight of her condition. Whoever did this would die.

"How did you find me?"

She moved away from me and settled herself on the bed, easing onto with a deep sigh. I didn't have time to give her details about how I tore her old boss a new one and knocked out nearly every guard Daggett had set out.

"Let's just say that whoever decided to put you here was an idiot, but I'll tell you later. We need to leave here and now."

"Selina, I can't really leave."

"The hell you can't. I'm taking you with me. These people are dangerous."

"No, listen to me. A lot of terrible things are going to happen soon, Selina, I can feel it. I've heard the things that are going to happen. Trust me, where I'm at now is the best place for me. I can fix things."

What the hell was she talking about? I grabbed her by the wrist that wasn't wrapped in bandages, dragging her up with me. She didn't look pleased about it and pulled back on me. I lost my grip, my mouth opened with shock. What was she doing? Did she have no idea what these people were capable of?

"Finn, I don't have time for this. We. Need. To. Leave. Now. We're both in too deep and we need to get the fuck out of Dodge."

"It isn't that simple. I'm keeping her alive. As long as I'm here, Jen is safe. He won't hurt her. I know what I'm doing."

"No, no you don't. Jen is safe. She's back at home, watching Gossip Girl or something. Are you talking about Bane, the masked merc? He won't get near your sister. You're delusional, Finn."

"That's one thing I've never been, Selina. I have to stay here."

"I'm not leaving you here to die, you stubborn ass."

I rolled my eyes, getting tired of her rebuttals. I took her smaller wrist in my hand again, pulling her with me as I left the room. Daggett's safe may have been empty and without Clean Slate, but I found Finley and that more than made up for it. I kept a tight grip on her wrist and she didn't struggle. The poor girl was exhausted. What did Daggett do to her?

"Keep your mouth shut. One word and I'm dragging you back home. Stay close."

I slunk through the hallways, sticking to the shadows. Daggett left this part of his penthouse significantly darker. He didn't use this area much, so it was perfect to hide out in. I kept my ears open, listening as Daggett commented to Stryver about Bane's execution of the heist. I pulled Finley with me and crept down the short flight of stairs, striding to the recreational room on my tip toes. Finley with her light frame was naturally silent as a mouse.

I made it there before Daggett, listening to his heavy foot falls as he neared the room. With my back to the wall, I pushed Finley away from me. I waited with heavy breathing, placing a finger over my lips to show Finley that she needed to be silent. This had to be perfect. Daggett would pay. For everything. Every bruise on Finley would be three on him. It was only fair.

"And can we get some girls in here? Preferably without mauled faces."

"Careful what you wish for."

As soon as his foot crossed into the door, I gripped his shirt and threw him into the middle of the room. He fought to get the gun out from his pants, but I was too fast for him. I shoved him into the back wall of his room, his wrist caught in my heel as I shot my leg up. This seemed all too familiar.

"Cat got your tongue, babe?"

I purred at him dangerously, licking my lips. I had to savor this moment.

"You dumb bitch."

I tore the gun from his gun, tossing it over to where Finn hid behind the round couch in the center of the room. I turned my attention back to Daggett, my heel keeping his wrist at an angle uncomfortable for him.

"Nobody ever accused me of being dumb."

"You're a dumb bitch for coming out here tonight."

"I want what you owe me and what she deserves, you worthless sack of flesh."

I felt the cold steel of a gun pressed to the back of my head. The manservant, Stryver, held a gun to me. I felt his eyes run over me, no doubt appreciating the view. Would he appreciate it on his knees?

"Those heels make it hard to walk in, babe?"

"I don't know, do they?"

I swiveled and lowered my leg from Daggett, striking at Stryver's leg with my serrated heel. He cried out in pain and dropped, my the toe of my boot connecting with his jaw. He fell over, limp. Now then, where was I? Oh yes, Daggett. I shoved him back against the wall.

"Where is it?"

"Where's what, you crazy bitch?"

"The program. Clean Slate."

"Oh. That. The master thief's master tool. Yeah, I don't have it."

This fucking guy. A commotion outside startled Finley and I heard her small gasp from behind the couch as guards poured in. Daggett lowered his head, looking at me with a positively lecherous grin. Oh, was he in for a surprise. I snuck a peek at the window to my side before grabbing onto the tycoon, forcing us both through the glass and onto a window cleaning platform. Finley was on her own, but she could handle herself. At least that's what I told myself. I kept the gun I picked up from Stryver trained on Daggett as I cut the wire that kept the platform suspended. This night had gone a lot differently than I thought it would.

Daggett cried out as I tossed him onto the abandoned rooftop the platform landed on. He tried to roll over and crawl away, but I gave him a clean kick to the gut. He keeled over, clutching his stomach. I crouched down over him, sliding the gun into my belt and flexing my hand over his face. Claws glinted in the moonlight.

"Where is it? After you tell me, I'll debate flaying you alive and stringing you out for all of Gotham to see."

"It'll be difficult to get me to tell you where the Clean Slate is if you keep threatening my life over that doctor's sad life. If you think you'll be in deep shit after this… You can't even imagine the world of pain she'll be in."

Did I just screw over Finley by making a midnight attack on Daggett? No, he was lying. He had a knack for lying, but I was just a bit better at it than him.

"Where's the Clean Slate?"

"You mean the program where if you enter a name and date of birth that you'll be gone from every system in the world. Sounds pretty farfetched doesn't it?"

"You're lying!"

"Sorry, sweetheart, it was just a gangland myth."

He grinned at me and I hissed in aggravation. This wasn't happening. All of the shit I went through. Every cut and scrape. It was all for nothing. No, I had gotten Finley. This wasn't for nothing. Where was she? I was answered by nearing footsteps, a group of black faced mercenaries stalking towards me from the shadows. Must be Daggett's hired guns. Finn was amongst them, being pulled along by a merc who didn't seem to care about his prisoner's feeble attempts to squirm away. I pulled Daggett up by his collar, wrapping one arm around his throat while I held a gun to his head.

"I'll kill him! I'm not bluffing."

"They know, they just don't care."

_**Finley**_.

I recognized that voice, even amongst all the chaos that this night offered. It was him. The Dark Knight, Caped Crusader. But I liked to call him my hero. The hired guns around me advanced forward, rushing at Selina with extreme prejudice. Batman leapt down from his perch to the aid of my only friend. They were mesmerizing to watch, I morbidly mused from my current view from the coward's stand. They flowed with each other like deadly koi fish, their attacks stringing together as one. The sight should have given me hope, but I knew better.

Selina said I was delusional, but she didn't know. For once, I knew more than she did. She always went off about a storm coming, but she had no idea the magnitude of it. This wasn't going to be a storm. This was going to be the end of times for Gotham. Our own Armageddon. Our own Apocalypse. This wouldn't be a storm. This would be a reaping. Every strike that Selina dealt, she moved closer to me. For a brief moment, our eyes met and I knew. I knew she wasn't fighting for her survival for once. She was fighting for mine. She roared at Batman as he pulled her away, guiding her to the edge where he leapt off to land somewhere below. Selina stayed crouched on the ledge, her eyes looking to me. I tensed myself, ready to run to her. Her eyes urged me to run, to run to her and to run for freedom. Could I do it? Maybe she was right. Maybe it was time to get out of Dodge. I stood from my kneeling position and began to run. My legs pumped, but I was running in slow motion. The more I ran, the farther she became. Amidst all the chaos, I managed to make it to the ledge. I gave a hopeful laugh and pushed myself towards Selina. She reached her hand out, the tips of her fingers brushing mine. A hand on my ankle stopped me and tossed me onto the rooftop, my body sliding along the gravel. Selina's eyes widened with horror and for a moment she looked to be in inner turmoil before she leapt from the ledge. An engine whirred to life, bright lights blinding me as some bizarre aircraft shot into the air. I gave a small cry, my head swimming from the impact. Selina's clawed hand touched the glass of the aircraft and for the first time in eight years, Batman looked me in the eye. They were smoldering with rage and regret. Was it regret for not being able to save me? Then, just like that, they were gone. And I was left here.

Bane spoke up, looking down at my position with disdain. I rolled onto my back, wheezing and groaning. I scooted away from him as his men flanked his sides, making him all that more imposing. He looked at me with a hardened edge, veins pulsating in his head. His eyes were sharp daggers that pierced my heart and soul. I instantly regretted trying to run. He almost looked hurt, but his anger outweighed whatever offense he had taken.

"Did you honestly believe escape would be that easy?"

He strode forward and grabbed my bare foot. I thrashed against him, my fear driving my body. I was trapped in his grip. My throat dried, an impending sense of doom crushing me under its weight. His hand moved from my foot to my ankle, his fingers encircling it in a vice. His touch sent shivers through my body and I gaped at him.

_He wouldn't._

His grip tightened, his eyes never leaving my face. He watched every emotion that passed through my face. Confusion. Realization. Fear.

_He would._

"Did your memory fail you? Or did you choose to forget the warning I gave you earlier?"

His voice took on a dangerous edge, his eyes dark with alarming emotion. His grip became even tighter and I let out a short scream, my leg seizing as pain shot up from my ankle.

"I-I won't try and run again! For fucks sake Bane, stop."

"Of course you won't," his voice rumbled with certainty. "You would have to be able to run."

I was frantic, my hands pulling at his. His free hand easily pried my hands away. He tilted his head, observing my face. All I could feel was the crunch of bones and my nerves crying out in agony. Oh god. Oh god. I wailed to the heavens, my eyes blurry from painful tears. My head throbbed.

_No no no no no._

Once he was satisfied at the state of my destroyed ankle, he released it. I screamed my throat hoarse, only letting out pathetic and halfhearted sobs. The man stood over my twitching form. The full moon rose high, watching over us. I curled into the fetal position, careful of my newly shattered ankle. My breathing was erratic and I fought to think straight. Bane reached his hand to my face, his fingertips brushing my dirty hair from my bleary eyes.

"What do you make of your hero, Finley?"

He removed his hand from my face and I shook involuntarily, my eyes fighting to stay open. He was sincerely questioning me, no trace of mockery in his voice. I didn't want to answer him. I didn't want to be near him.

"Your hero has abandoned you and left you to the lions."

Batman was supposed to be able to destroy monsters, yet here I was with the monster. Batman had left me and taken Selina. I shouldn't have ever foolishly believed that I could leave. I shouldn't have believed that Batman could save me. Because of that, my ankle was now shattered. I couldn't help the bitter taste of pessimism that flooded my throat and assaulted my senses.

"I…" my voice was quiet and he leaned in closer to hear me, eyes so smoldering that they singed me. "I don't believe in heroes anymore."


	10. Coming Down

"I told you that I wasn't going to run so why shatter my ankle?"

He hunkered down and started to unwrap my ankle, inspecting it. I was used to skin discoloration so the sight didn't unnerve me as much as it should have. I gripped the seat of my chair and gritted my teeth, trying to avoid whimpering—I didn't want to give him the satisfaction. Satisfied with his inspection, he began to rewrap my ankle; It was apparent that he had some medical practice in his past. Once he was finished, he cast his eyes to mine. Once again I was reeled in.

"Assurance," was all he said before he returned to the hospital bed. I sat up on a wobbly leg, keeping my ankle elevated as I hopped over to the bed. I braced myself on the bed and reached over to the table, taking an IV in hand. Bane presented me with his inner arm and I slid the needle into his vein. I taped the IV down and reached over to the table, taking a syringe in hand. I fed the venom into the IV, then hopped back to my seat.

We were back underground where I was starting to believe that Bane felt most comfortable. He rested on the faux hospital bed, my IV taped to his inner arm. As the steady stream of venom pumped into his veins, the green liquid became barely visible underneath his pale skin. The sun hadn't touched him for a very long time.

I decided to break the silence, albeit awkwardly. "Not to doubt your intelligence or anything, but I have to ask. Was putting me in Daggett's pad really the best decision?"

"It fulfilled a purpose, if that is what you are asking."

I scoffed, "Yeah? Showing me how shitty people really are? I already knew that one."

"People are deplorable, yes, but that was not its purpose. Your friend was bound to reveal herself. Your presence only acted as a catalyst."

I broke my focus on my ankle to look at Bane. He knew Selina was going to show up?

_Hmm._

He knew more than he let on. There were a lot of blank pages in the notebook of Bane, but they would fill themselves in eventually. It was only a matter of time and patience. If I even lasted that long.

"Selina? You knew she would come?"

"She holds you very dear to her. Stryver's near broken state gave me a clear idea. She would do anything for you."

"What are you getting at?" I carefully turned myself to face him. His head rolled on the pillow, his eyes resting upon me. Even in his relaxed state, his presence was daunting- my skin heated beneath my shirt. I pulled at the collar, stretching the cotton.

"She will bargain for your freedom with whatever she finds of higher value" His air was breathy, but his voice held its constant intensity. "Now that she knows where you are and who you are with."

"She doesn't have anything to bargain with. You don't come off as a diamond and pearl guy."

"Jewels hold no value in my mind. No. She will trade a life for a life. Or rather, lives. We will hunt and pursue her until she complies. She has no choice."

My stomach roiled at his words and my throat tightened from anxiety and worry over Selina.

_Oh god, Selina…_

There wasn't anything or anyone out there worth trading. Besides, Bane wouldn't let me go. He couldn't. He needed my venom and he would do anything to keep me here. My ankle throbbed as I thought on it. I knew well enough from the rise in his blood pressure and the slow breath that escaped through a hiss whenever I slid the needle into his skin—he was following the path to addiction. He loved my venom. Needed it.

I covered over my fear with a sheer coat of pessimism, praying that he did not sense it. "That's funny. There isn't a life out…up there you would even consider setting me free for."

"Yes…You and I both know that, but she doesn't. She has one man in mind and she will become desperate as one does when they are faced with an imperative. Do you comprehend yet, Finley?"

"Batman."

The word escaped my lips in a faint whisper. Bane's eyes crinkled as I imagined they would if he were to ever smile. I ran my hand through my hair and my mind tried to fully grasp the situation. Selina would sacrifice Batman on blind faith, in hopes that I would be safe. My hero of yesterday, but not of today.

"You are in shock." He mused with morbid glee. "Why? Do you still hold some shred of fondness for the man who left you behind?"

"He saved my life eight years ago."

"Only to discard you like a dirtied rag he had wiped his faults upon" he said with his voice full of condescension. "And that was only yesterday. Tell me. What did he do to earn your blind faith?"

"What does it matter? You said it, he left me behind yesterday. Leave it at that."

He said nothing. He was waiting for me to speak. To open up and tell him everything. Tell him why Batman, despite his betrayal yesterday, meant so much to this anesthesiologist who twitched at the merest sound. Bane wanted me to speak, and he would listen. I didn't know if I should feel honored or terrified that this mountain of a man seemed so positively interested in me. I flushed under his intensive stare.

I sighed; there was no way out of this. Either way he'd get it out of me.

"Mr. Reese, some guy from Wayne Enterprises, went on GCN. Said he knew the identity of Batman. It seemed like a load of shit to me. Anyway, the Joker rung up the news channel and said that he was going to blow up a hospital if Reese said anything. I'm sure you read up on the Joker. He was a nutcase, a bag full of mangy cats. His name still terrifies the people who remember. People like me."

I shook at the thought of him and pulled my knee up, placing my good foot on the edge of the chair. My arm wrapped around my bare knee in a vice to keep my body from shaking too violently. The Joker chilled me to the bone, even after all these years. People didn't understand, said that I was just overdramatic, but I knew better. They weren't there. They didn't live with the memory of his rotten breath, the smooth steel of his knives. I shuddered and Bane was still, waiting for me to continue.

"I was off that day, but I knew that Gotham General would be a target. It's the biggest damn hospital in the entire city and he was…he liked the attention. I had patients there that I helped Dr. Ross with…I was worried about them. I left my house and hauled ass to the hospital. God, the streets were hell. People were losing their minds. I remember… I remember almost hitting a man who decided a green light was the right time to sprint across the road. Dumb bastard. But the streets…the streets didn't compare to the hospital. It was a nightmare. Nurses and cops running around, yelling at each other. They were evacuating the place, getting everyone out."

Bane shifted his position, taking the IV from his arm and placing it upon the table. I watched him as he readjusted himself, his eyes never leaving me even as he tossed this way and that. It was a bit unsettling, but I managed to continue telling my sad story.

" Harvey Dent…He was in the hospital too. He denied me giving him any painkillers, said he didn't want to get rid of the pain. Poor guy lost his fiancé when the Joker decided to blow him up. I had figured that he would be a priority, but something told me to check on him. I shouldn't have. I should have just left, but I…I couldn't. I just couldn't. I needed to make sure he was okay. I just remember going down the hallway and seeing a cop running to Harvey's room. He said something when he went in, but I don't remember. Then I heard it. A gunshot. My instincts told me to run and I did, but in the wrong direction. In the room…That room…He was there. The Joker."

My head ached at the memory and I buried my face in my hands, trying to gather my breath and nerves before I went on. I had spent years trying to bury these memories, but here they were, resurfacing again under Bane's orders.

"Painted lips, red like blood. But those were nothing compared to his eyes…Black and bottomless, like I imagine hell to be like. I remember the fear I had when he saw me and he just…he just smiled at me, like I was an old friend. Between the dead cop on the ground, the Joker in front of me, and Harvey Dent on the bed… I didn't know what to do. So I ran. I ran like all of hell was on my heels, but that wasn't enough. The Joker was fast for a scrawny guy. He caught up to me in no time. I remember turning and seeing his face as he laughed at me…God, that face."

I hid my own face in my hands, trying to block out the memory of his breath on my face. His little catcalls and whistles. I bit at my lip, chewing the skin to nothing. My hands twisted each other to numbness, my eyes staring intently at the floor. Memories flashed in my eyes. A bloody scalpel. Red lips and rotten teeth.

"He caught me a-and threw me to the floor like I was nothing. He was hysterical, laughing and twitching about like a dog that caught a rabbit. It was horrifying. I couldn't do anything other than lay there, paralyzed. He found it…funny. He had a…scalpel and he held it to my mouth…said I reminded him of his sister and said I needed to smile more. And I fainted, just like that. Gotham's most insane criminal and I just fainted under him. I couldn't tell you how much time passed, but I remember…waking up and not being able to see.

"There was so much sound going on all around me and when I tried to move, I found that I was tied to a pole and my hands taped together around a pistol. I couldn't remember how I got there. There was a mask on my face, but it was placed all wrong…too high. My mouth tasted like blood, but I couldn't remember why. I forget a lot when I get scared. It's like a defense mechanism. I was there for a long time, propped up against that pole with a gun taped in my hands. Then after some time, shots were fired and glass was shattered. The noise…So loud. It scared me shitless and people started hollering. There was a hand on my shoulder, but in my heightened state of freak out mode, I lost all sense of myself and just started thrashing. Anything to get away.

"But…but the mask that covered my eyes was gone in a second and all I could see was black. And then…then a pair of eyes. They were dark and all I could remember of dark eyes was the Joker and the way he looked at me. So I shut down and started to bawl, lifting that gun to my head. I wanted to get away, I was desperate. I didn't even think of Jen and Selina. I only thought of how I wasn't going to make it. But that hand on my shoulder lowered the gun from my head and cut the tape. He finally said something and that's when I knew who it was."

A miniscule smile curled on my lips as I remembered. I didn't know when I began crying as I recalled the memory, but I had. The warm tears formed dusky trails on my face.

"He knew who I was…He even called me by name. He told me…He told me that I was safe, told me to keep on living, because my life didn't need to be cut short because of a mad man. He said I had reason and worth, unlike the Joker. That was the first time I had ever met the Batman, but even in my scared state, I never forgot what he told me. That night was the most horrible, yet wondrous moment of my life. Being told to keep living by a living legend was such an...it's hard to describe it accurately."

I looked to the hospital bed, but Bane was gone from there. I didn't even hear him sit up, nor did I hear him stand and walk away from me. I was lost in my own memory, but he never seemed to lose interest in my story. He leaned against a stone pillar that was closest to the waterfall that cascaded to my left. My hands wiped at the tears that formed in my eyes. Jesus, how many times had this man seen me cry?

"He gave me hope and another chance at life. That's all I could have ever asked for. A second chance to try and gain back what innocence I had." I chuckled humorlessly, shaking my head, "If you couldn't tell, I did a shit poor job."

His eyes cast down. He was quiet again. Whenever he became silent, the quiet rang in my ears and dulled my senses. It bothered me, but I remained where I was. A feeling grew in my chest, a warm feeling. I felt…relieved that I had told someone, even if it was my jailer.

"I have given you a true chance at redemption, Finley." His eyes were on me again. "Whereas your Batman has abandoned you."

"I think you breaking my ankle almost is worse than his abandonment," I didn't wait for his reaction. "Besides, I took the gift he gave me and blew it to hell. I became a fully fledged doctor, only to use that to my advantage in drug dealing. I let my hero down."

"That was Dr. Robinson. The title that became your mask and that has recently been broken. You are no longer a doctor. Finley Robinson is your true face. Finley the woman who would give her life so selflessly to a man who ordered her capture, only so that her sister may live."

His eyes ran over my face, gauging my reaction. My forehead was creased, my dried lips pursed as I listened to his words.

"However, there is also the Finley who stabbed a man and tore a woman's face apart with her bare hands." He raised his hand, pointing to me before dropping it to rest by his side.

"You have only encountered darkness; you have never become it entirely. You have felt the light of the sun, but it has never enveloped you. There is no black and white to you. You are a shade of grey. There is innocence and darkness within you. Despair and hope are one and the same inside you. You are starting to bloom, Miss Robinson."

"Bloom? Into what?"

"Into something that seems…familiar to me." His voice was elusive. He was in as deep of thought as I was.

"As poetic as that is, I'm not like you. I don't thunder around, breathing hellfire and devouring the weak."

"Perhaps you are right to doubt our similarities. But you, Finley, are something greater than you know. Perhaps, someday soon, you will realize your full potential and evolve into something else. A living, breathing fire that will remain constant and expanding."

_What in god's name is he talking about?_

"And I hope that I will be there to see it, because something of great beauty must have a witness."

I couldn't even process what he just said. I only sat there, my mouth in a tight line and my brain a scrambled mess. This seemed too surreal. Just everything these past few days seemed unreal.

He chortled at my silence, shrugging himself away from the wall. His form advanced towards me, his steps heavy and calculated. I hated how small I felt near him. It made it hard to breathe. The sight of his mask still unnerved me and I remembered last night and how he regarded me with gleeful and horrendously morbid curousity as he shattered my ankle. His mask looked more like it was designed for fear factor, not functionality.

"Where…Where did you come from? You're not from Gotham, so what's your story?"

"You wish to hear my story? Ah, you know not of what you ask."

He seemed almost surprised by my request, the pitch of his voice rising even through his breathing apparatus.

"It's only fair."

"Even after all of your past occurrences, you still hold belief in what is just and fair. You are resilient even in your partially broken state." He quirked a brow at me, arms folded loosely over the great expanse of his chest.

_It would take a lot more than a broken foot to disassemble me to nothing._

"Partially suggests that I'm half broken. As of right now, I'm only a quarter broken. But enough about me. I'm asking about you."

He ran his eyes over my face, trying to sense a lie in my interest. When he found none, he creased his forehead. He knew, sooner or later, that I would ask.

"Do not ask me again. Go back to your work. Tomorrow, the fire shall begin its ascension."

A/N: Final edited chapter before I start the new one. Wanted to thank Loretta Lolita once again. She's great. As always, review and let me know what you think! I love hearing from you guys.


	11. Rabbit Heart

_A fire is going to start its ascension? _

That sounded too familiar and it bothered me. I couldn't even make the damn cocaine lines straight. I was over-thinking it. That's all it was. I groaned. I could do my job better if I could see in this damn light. Fuck it. I tossed the razor away and rubbed at my eyes. I wondered what time it was.

_Chink. Chink._

"What the fuck?"

The razor I had tossed skidded past my desk. My body turned towards the entrance of my prison and I squinted my eyes. There was only darkness, the lamp at my desk providing meager light. I tilted my head, cursing the fact that I couldn't get up to investigate…not without difficulty at least. I heard the light shuffle of feet coming toward me. This wasn't Bane or Barsad with their heavy steps. This was light. Like a cat.

"Y-You are doctor, yes?"

_Who in the hell?_

A twitchy man emerged from the shadows, itching at his arms. Disheveled and graying hair stood up on his head, streaked with white. Good lord, what happened to this man? The bruises on his face looked fresh. A deep cut ran along the side of his head. The blood had only dried recently.

"I was…Who is asking?" I scrunched my nose, my smile fading. There I go again, getting hopeful.

"I was too… Dr. Pavel. Leonid Pavel." His eyes were sad, much like his thickly accented voice. This was a broken and beaten man. He kept his distance from me. I gathered that his trust had been broken one too many times. How had I never seen him before? Wait. He was a doctor. Was Bane collecting doctors like trading cards or what?

"A doctor in what?" I shifted in my seat, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Nuclear physics… I regret it now."

_Nuclear physics…? That's odd._

"What does Bane need you for? I understand…barely, the reason for me being here, but what does he need a nuclear physicist for?"

He wrung his hands, sweat gathering on his forehead. Was I making him nervous or was he always like this? His eyes, big and afraid, looked at me. I knew he was wrestling with himself internally as he continued to fidget.

"They took me from home…To…To make weapon intended to destroy this city."

_Tell me something I don't know….Wait. DESTROY it? No no no. That wasn't the plan._

I froze. No. That wasn't the idea. Bane just intended to turn the city on its head. Not destroy it. Jen would be safe from him. She wouldn't be destroyed by a bomb. This doctor was just exaggerating. That's all it could be…That's all it had to be.

He seemed surprised at my silence. He looked almost…afraid that I didn't have a greater reaction. He began to pace, pulling at the necktie that hung loosely from his neck. He was starting to worry me. His eyes were manic. What had this man gone through?

"Your purpose it to keep Bane alive?" His head picked up sharply, looking at me with such an intensity that it startled me. I unfolded my arms and used them to help distance my chair from him.

"I was an anesthesiologist. I'm supposed to cure his chronic pain or something. But there isn't a cure for pain. I can only give him periods of relief with a drug I made."

He ran at me and before I could even blink, he gripped my shoulders and shook them violently. His eyes were wild and bloodshot, his fingers digging into my bruised shoulders.

"What the FUCK!?" I screamed and pushed at him, trying anything to keep him off of him. What the fuck was he doing? I struck out at him with my good leg and that only hindered him for a moment. His fear was driving him.

"You don't know power that you hold! You can kill him, end all this! End this before he kills us all! You will die if he doesn't! You will die! We all burn!"

"G-Get the hell of me!" My foot made contact with his knee and he fell back, stunned. My chest heaved and shuddered. Dr. Pavel gathered himself, seeming to remember that he was an esteemed doctor. He scrambled to his feet, hands flailing about as he swore in some foreign language. I knew I needed to calm him down before he did something drastic.

"Leonid…Can I call you that?" I put my hand out as a gesture of kindness. He eyed me with skepticism. I guess he wasn't used to displays of humanity…given what this man had likely been through.

"I-I…suppose." His answer was meek and he refused to look at me, assumedly ashamed of his actions.

"Alright, great. I'm Finley Robinson. You can call me Finn if you want. It's what my friends call me. You look…You look like you could use a friend."

The physicist eased up a bit and I let out a shaky breath, relieved. The doctor began to pace again, but less frantic this time.

"I am sorry, Dr. Robinson."

"You can call me Finn, Leonid. I don't mind really." My voice was light, trying to console this poor man.

"No…No I cannot. That is too personal. I am afraid we will not live long enough to fully appreciate the other," His eyes were watery and his mouth trembled as he spoke. He kept his eyes down casted, away from mine.

"If you're right, and we are going to die in a blaze of fire… I think a friend might just be the thing you need right about now."

_Jesus, that was lame._

He didn't seem as sure about it as I was. This man, Dr. Pavel, was afraid of death. I couldn't blame him. Even as I worked, I was scared of death. It was always there and it crept up at the worst moments. I had to keep death from creeping up on Jen. That was all that mattered.

"All my friends are dead. You will die soon also. Saying goodbyes is only thing left."

"It isn't my time to say goodbye." My eyes hardened to diamond and they dug into Dr. Pavel, "As long as I keep it…er…Bane alive, I won't be harmed." _And Jen will be spared, _I thought. He shivered.

"You trust his word? He would kill you without second thought and throw you into sewer."

"Right now, Dr. Pavel, his word is all I have. And I'm already in the sewer. He wouldn't have to throw me very far. By keeping him alive, I'm keeping my sister alive. That's all that matters to me." He finally looked at me, his eyes holding an old sadness and apathy.

"You keep him alive for one person? He will kill your city."

"That one person means more to me than this city. She means more to me than ten cities and all the riches of the world. So to answer your question…Yes, I will keep him alive." I was done with this conversation and I turned from him, giving him my coldest shoulder. His words brought up a plausible solution that swirled in my head. It was possible. I could kill Bane. But then what? His men would destroy me if I killed him. Or would his rule become dust? It was a risk I wasn't willing to take. Not yet.

"You kill him and your sister will live. Why you not understand?" The sadness and loss of hope in his voice tugged at me. It was harder than I thought to harden my heart to this old man I had just met.

"I don't think it's that easy. There's…something more to this. There has to be. I might not see this to the end. That doesn't matter. As long as my sister can still see the sky every day, I don't give a damn. I didn't ask for this to happen, but I didn't have a choice in that."

"But you have choice now, to kill this evil."

"Ah Dr. Pavel", a deep lilting voice boomed through the darkness, "What evil do you speak of?"

Pavel gasped in shock, clutching at his heart as he stumbled back. Bane strode in from the shadows. Two rickety looking crutches were clutched in his bear paw of a hand.

I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise. How long had he been listening? Bane's tempestuous eyes held Pavel in his place.

"For the life of me," He strode towards Pavel with all the commanding aura of a predator dominating its prey. "I cannot recall giving you permission to discuss philosophical studies with our guest."

If Pavel could have, I'm sure he would have dropped dead right then and there. His knees shook and sweat poured profusely down his bristly face.

"I would not waste your fear now, good doctor," He said with his menacingly jovial tone. "It will be all you have when the end becomes nigh."

Bane was mocking the doctor, almost bullying him. It sickened me to my stomach, but I kept quiet. I didn't want to incur Bane's wrath more than I already had. The doctor remained frozen in place and I'm sure if I had tipped him over, he would shatter into a million pieces. I averted my eyes from the situation. If I didn't see it, it wasn't happening.

_Finn, stop lying to yourself. _

Barsad came down from the elevated ramp, seizing the doctor and taking him away. I lifted my head and made eye contact with the doctor for the first time. He was urging me yet again. I closed my eyes and shook my head, not wanting to see his disappointment.

_I'm sorry…my friend._

A large hand fisted the front of my shirt and Bane tugged me up with all the gentleness of a butcher. He was mindful of my ankle, forcefully setting me into the makeshift crutches. He stepped away from me and watched as I adjusted to them. They were crudely put together with splintered wood and metal pipes. Old shirts wrapped in each other posed as the underarm padding. Surely they could have procured a better pair, but I said nothing. Was I supposed to say thank you? Or what?

"Your appreciation is what I am searching for, Finley."

"Keep searching for it." I said through gritted teeth, the pads doing nothing to keep the crutches from digging into the flesh of my armpits. He moved and tore my left crutch out from under me, his eyes leering at me. A sharp breath left me at the sensation of falling. Bane's free hand caught me under my arm, his fingers digging harshly into the flesh of my upper arm. He threatened to dislocate my shoulder, holding me inches above the ground. I looked up at his face, only to see that he was the image of calm.

"Do not test unsteady waters, Finley." He set me back on the crutch, taking a moment to steady me. His respirator hissed at me like a street cat as he spoke once more. "Or I will throw you into them and allow you to drown."

He was right. At any moment, he could crush me to dust. Yet while he held my life in his hand, I held his life in a syringe. This was an eternal game of tug-of-war that he and I played. And our rope had sparked aflame in the middle. It was only a matter of time to see who the fire burned first.

He said nothing else, walking away at a leisurely pace. I crutched along, unsteadily. with all the minor sports I played in high school, I never had an injury. And of course, with my luck, I'd have to go up an elevated surface the one time I get injured. He offered no assistance. Of course he wouldn't. I think he liked watching me struggle.

As we walked, I started to notice that the line of his jaw was tensing and relaxing. The muscles in his bare arms rippled tension. But what for?

"You're…You're preparing for something?" I managed to get out amongst labored breaths. These crutches would kill me before he did.

"Have you ever witnessed a lion before it makes a kill, Miss Robinson?" He looked to me from the corner of his eye, his voice rising with vivacity.

_What do big cats have to do with this?_

"I never really watched Animal Planet…most cat action I've ever seen is Gotham's horde of strays."

_What is he getting at?_

"When I was in Africa, I witnessed a lion's kill. Before the lion struck, he waited and prepared himself for the moment he would sink his teeth into flesh. The lion lay in anticipation, readying itself for the kill." Bane's eyes flashed with life as he relived the memory.

"He waited for hours, stalking the creature, waiting for the moment it dropped its guard. When that moment came, he made his move." He looked to me, his voice alarming me. Veins pulsed in his forehead. He was…excited by the memory.

"The kill was violent, a young gazelle, but the act itself had been carried out with precision. Had the lion not prepared himself, he would not have made the kill."

I looked to Bane as he regaled me with his tale, his eyes bright and vivid. He wasn't lying when he talked about having life experience, but I couldn't help but wonder…

_Who was the gazelle?_

He led me to where his armed men waited. They stood on the edges of the underground cave that Bane had made his home. An elevated catwalk crossed from one side to the other and another catwalk rose over the waterway below it, the waterfall's clear waters roaring through. Lone chains hung down from the ceiling. This was almost like an entire other level and it reminded me of a gladiatorial arena.

Bane led me to Barsad, directing him to set me upon sandbags. My arms burned from the exertion of uphill crutching and I was glad to finally rest. Why was everyone standing around though? They looked to Bane in anticipation as he strode past them. He was a god amongst mortals. They looked to him with respect and fear. I tapped my good foot, looking around at their faces. Trying to find an answer to why we were all here.

"You are going to witness something incredible, love." Barsad must have sensed my confusion, but he still didn't provide me with an answer.

"But what? I'd like to know why I had to crutch up here." I frowned and my brows knitted together.

"Just wait, your patience will reward you."

I scratched at my neck, pulling at the short hairs at the nape of my neck. I was getting anxious. Bane stood on the catwalk, holding onto the straps of his vest. He stood facing the other side, before he began to pace. He was preparing. The bulk and muscle of his shoulders rolled over each other like the great lion he spoke of as he paced, his eyes looking off into the distance with extreme focus. He was the lion, waiting for his gazelle.

_Oh no._

Suddenly, I realized. Batman was his gazelle and Bane was going to tear him limb from limb.

A/N: Hot damn, almost 300 followers. You guys are too kind. :') Sorry for the wait on this one. As always, review and lemme know what you think. I'll try to get the next one up a little faster, but I might not. It's kind of a major chapter.


	12. Broken Pieces

Here we were, sitting on the colorless outskirts of Bane's holdout, watching the man pound back and forth on the catwalk that stretched over above the expanse below. We were level with Bane, but he was above us and far away in a world he reigned eternal.

My aching eyes remained glued to the goliath despite my feeble efforts to move them. I sunk my teeth in my lower lip wanting to look anywhere.

Somewhere _he _wouldn't be.

_He's always here._

Everyone stood, the Romans in the coliseum eager to witness the gladiators fight to the death—awaiting blood to soak in the sand.

"You look anxious," the young right handed man's accent poured through me. "You are worried for him?" The mercenary stood to my left, leaning back against the stone wall to my possible crypt.

My brow furrowed, "Who?"

"Bane," Barsad's eyes lit up in a jesting manner, his face a bright grin. "There's no reason to be worried."

Despite the brutal silence before the storm, my stomach clenched, biting back laughter from the ludicrous assumption I turned my head to Barsad.

Is he fucking serious?

My ethereal distraction faded and I was back in the damp and dark hell.

I scanned on Bane - observing the predator before he caught his prey. I took note that his pacing altered between heavy and light steps. If anyone was anxious, it had to be him. Not once did he look to his followers. His dark eyes stayed ahead and nowhere else.

"Worried isn't the word I would use," My breath hitched as my belly twisted into knots. "I don't need to be here."

A hand clamped onto my shoulder in a demanding, but gentle grip. It froze me in place.

"He wants ye to see this, love." He removed it once he realized I wouldn't struggle.

"He wants all of us to."

I slumped, lacing my hands together and resting my face on them. My elbows dug into my knees, the sandbag I sat on was becoming increasing uncomfortable. My head pounded. I glanced at the gate that led onto the catwalk Bane occupied.

_Please don't turn that corner…Please don't walk through that gate. If there is a god, have some amount of decency to keep Batman away._

The foreboding ticking of the doom clock was suddenly replaced with the clicking of heels.

_No,_my eyes widened, _please don't be those heels._

I tilted my head and saw Selina's sleek figure strutting behind a black, pointy-eared mass. The shadow almost seemed to phase through the gate, heavy and solid. It was the Batman. The door shut behind the Batman as he stepped into the cage. I peeled my eyes away from them once Bane's pacing ceased and he rolled his shoulders one last time, his back to Batman.

He was ready.

_Fuck, Selina. Go, just go._

Her head turned from batman to my direction and even though I could barely make out her features, I shook my head. Willing her to leave and to never look back.

"Ah, but not as serious as yours I fear." The jovial, lilting voice laced with a strange accent hissed mechanically. His bald head tilted back up and his stormy eyes cut into me briefly. I froze. Bane held his back to Batman who stood at the end of the catwalk. Bane rolled his neck before he finally turned. My heart was able to beat again.

The bat armored vigilante turned, fists clenched

"Let us not stand on ceremony..." Bane's voice lifted as if he was the only source of light in this stoned prison. He stepped towards the caped man, his hands holding onto his vest as he approached with thunderous footfalls.

"…Mr. Wayne."

_Wait, did I just hear Wayne? What? No. It couldn't… No._

My jaw dropped along with my heart.

_No…no… this is not possible…_This man…my lifeline in this insanity ridden world…was Bruce Wayne?

The playboy that had put so much money into the hospital's re-construction and restocking of medical supplies, but went off the radar for years?

And then comes back as Batman?

The astounding moment dissolved and there I was one with every soul in the room—a mere spectator in the theater of destruction this was about to become.

Batman, _Bruce Wayne, _moved his armor clad legs, and reached the masked mercenary after a few strides. He didn't hesitate to strike him with a heavy punch. Bane barely flinched and gripped the other man's fist, easily holding him back.

A sound remotely familiar to a laugh rumbled through his mask.

Despite all the previous times I've heard his unusal voice boom it never failed to paralyze me in a cold sweat.

"Peace has cost you your strength." He mused, before he caught Batman's fist in his hand. Even from my view, I could see the tendons pulling in Bane's fist.

Batman's struggles to this new creature became overt with his confusion at this demon. My jaw clenched and my arms shook, my hands dropping away from my face.

Bane was keeping the panting Batman at bay with ease—he was in complete control.

_No! _I screamed in my head._ This isn't how it's supposed to happen._

"Victory has defeated you." Bane boomed through his mask, the sound scratching at my ears.

Bane released his hand and bulldozed into Batman, knocking the caped man into the iron railing. I flinched at the sound, cold electricity running through my veins. Bane was deadly – impossibly strong and fast. He left Batman with little time to react, kicking him over the railing.

Batman landed out of my sight. I fought to swallow, my throat dry.

_No!_

I hobbled to the rail before me.

Despite the uglier this battle was getting, I had to see. My hands twitched, shaking the railing under my flinching. My stomach dropped, filled with roiling acid. I couldn't tear my eyes away.

The dark knight had landed by the waterfall with his cape extended, but he was fighting to breathe.

Unwanted tears brimmed my eyes, threatening to fall, seeing this… Gotham's_ Bruce Wayne…_Billionaire philanthropist, dressed up in the best armor money could buy—in the sewers getting destroyed by a monster made from the same flesh and bone that made him a man.

My heart palpitated. Cold sweat coated my face. I braced myself against the rail, fighting hard to believe this wasn't real. I wanted to wake up from this nightmare. I wanted to scream. Shout. Throw myself into a pit.

Bane clamored down one of the room's hanging chains with relative ease, the muscles in his arms bulging. My eyes fell to his hands held my life with a single twist of his wrist and that so tenderly wrapped my foot, now aimed to tear apart the one thing that kept the fire of hope alive in Gotham.

There were two sides to Bane. The cold kindness of his Dr. Jekyll and this bestial rage of his Mr. Hyde.

I tore my eyes away for a moment, to see that Selina was watching as attentively as everyone else. I needed to go to her, but…what could I do?

_I…I can't do anything._

I looked back down - something like fireworks had gone off. Smoke rose around Bane, but he kept his composure. Batman stood and dropped his hand to his side. Whatever he'd done… It didn't work.

Bane's mechanical voice lifted with amusement, "Theatricality and deception are powerful, aren't they? To the unitiated." He mocked, holding onto the straps of his vest – tall and arrogant.

_He's going to die and…and that mammoth of muscle just continued to play with his food._

The playboy billionare behind the mask continued to his pound his fists into Bane, connecting as roars of fury and desperation left him. His breathing was labored, but he didn't let up. The demon had a counter to everything and used his opponent's momentum against him.

Batman was an open book to him and Bane was setting fire to the pages.

"But we are initiated," The demon thundered, his arms blocking Batman's onslaught. "Aren't we, Bruce?" Bane's mask hissed as they broke apart, circling each other.

I gasped—Bane gripped the dark knight by the throat and lifted him into the air. The muscles on his arms bulged yet his grip seemed at ease.

"Members of the League of Shadows." Bane tilted his head, poison oozing from his words as he walked forward with Batman in his grip. "Yet, you betrayed us." Bane growled at Batman, scorn and resentment dripping with every syllable. Batman pulled at Bane's fingers to no avail.

"Us? You were excommunicated," Batman panted. "By a gang of psychopaths."

Bane threw him aside and I felt my fingers cracking, my jaw tightening. My head swam: _League of Shadows? Psychopaths? Who in the what? Bruce Wayne being Batman?_

_BaneandBatman…Bruce Wayne, members of some League? I don't understand. What in the fuck?_

"Now I," Bane raised his voice and his shadow fell over and draped over Batman. "Am the League of Shadows," His arms were raised and his fingers spread wide. "Here to fulfill R'as al Ghul's destiny."

A thundering roar escaped from Batman's lips and he threw himself at Bane, knocking the brute down. Batman's cries of frustration tore into my exhausted body. Painful sobs ached in my ribs and hysteria sparked through my nerves.

_He still has hope to save his city…_ His determination was heartbreaking to watch.

He rained down a flurry of punches and Bane took it, waiting for an opportunity. He got one when Batman took a breath, his brawny arms shooting into the caped man with bone crushing ferocity.

Batman was pushed aside and Bane rose, his breathing wheezing out through his respirator.

"You fight like a young man," he flexed as he strode toward Batman, his muscles rippling under his pale skin. "No reserves. Nothing held back." His feet thundered and his voice rose with each step. "Quite admirable, but highly mistaken." There was a deadly grin to his voice and it burned. He was in control. "You have made quite a few mistakes, haven't you…_Batman_?" His words were biting, tearing into the flesh of Batman, tasting and relishing his blood.

His voice held deep mockery and I looked away, stray tears racing down my face.

_Selina!_

Without a second thought, I pushed myself away from the railing. I held back a yelp-my ankle screamed in pain with each impulsive shaky step I took. _Keep going Finley! Don't stop!_ I moved pathetically to the catwalk that crossed above the ongoing clash. The men were too busy watching Bane to even take notice of me making my way across the catwalk.

Selina looked in my direction at the sound of my movements and immediately tried to open the gate and began to lift frantically when it wouldn't budge.

Everything went black and I dropped to my knees, my legs refusing to carry me. I pulled myself along the grate and sobs wracked through my body.

"Ah, you think darkness is your ally, Bruce…" I froze at the sound of **his** voice. Sweat on the back of my neck. My brain switched to haywire and I scrambled forward blindly, hoping to reach Selina. My shoulder crashed into the gate and I curled against it, my back smashed into the gate. I felt Selina's fingers in my hair.

"but you merely adopted the dark." His feet thudded as he moved through the darkness underneath the catwalk. "I was born in it." He inhaled sharply, voice wrapped around and constricting each syllable, deep and guttural. "Molded by it."

I stammered and sputtered, trying to form words. I pulled at Selina's fingers, my own scratching at the gate. "S-Selina, you n-need to go."

"Finley…what has…what has he done to you?" Her voice was shaking with horror.

"Selina, l-leave. Go." My voice broke, wretched tears dripping from my face. I closed my eyes, trying to root myself back into reality. But it was all too much.

Her fingers pulled gently at my hair, "I can't leave you" she whispered.

Bane's voice was a loud resounding bang in the darkness that shook me to my bones.

"By the time I saw the light," He hissed, his words dark with intellect. "I was already a man. And by then it was nothing to me, but **blinding**!" he roared the last word and I heard the unmistakable sound of his fist slam into something heavy. The lights snapped back on, blinding and white.

I shifted from the cage door to peek over the catwalk and saw Bane kneel over Batman's shaking body. He wasn't done. He plummeted his fist into Batman's face. It sounded like bones breaking and I heaved, my stomach fighting me.

_He's dying!_

Blow after blow until a sharp crack broke over the thundering of the waterfall. The mercenary had broken Batman's mask and he stood triumphant over the defeated man. He gestured up and I turned to see Barsad toss a remote down to him.

Batman's chest rose slowly with defeat, the rest of his body motionless. I pressed my body back into the door. Selina laced her fingers through the wiring of the door, hands fighting to pull me to her. Her hands shook with my shoulders.

"I will show you where I have made my home," Bane rumbled, his offsetting accent digging into my brain. "While preparing to bring justice to Gotham." His voice was a deep rumble, the air in the room becoming heavy and crushing. "Then…I will break you."

He pressed down on the remote and an eruption tore through the roof of the sewer. I clapped my hand to my ears, screaming as I pressed even more into the grated door. I choked and trembled, debris cascading on either side of the catwalk. An earth shattering 'thud' shook the underground.

_I'm going to die._

An artificial light flooded the room from the open ceiling, blinding me. Bane had made his base of operations under a building. I blinked rapidly. My chest hurt from panicking and I saw the catwalk had remained untouched by the rain of rubble. My eyes fell back to Bane.

"Your precious armory. Gratefully accepted. We will need it." His voice glowed with glee. A large vehicle…An **armored **vehicle rested on the ground by Bane. Ash fell from the ceiling, papers scattering everywhere. Some of Bane's men lifted themselves into the gaping hole. The roar of the explosion had subsided and Selina's fingers were on me, pulling at me.

"Finley, doll, we need to leave!" Her voice was threatening to break. "I'm going to try and figure out how to open this damn gate." She was fighting to keep in control. "When I do, we're getting out of here. I basically had a man" She paused, voice laced with remorse. "Killed to get you out of here, so just let me save you damn it!" Her nails dug into me, trying to rouse me from my near catatonia.

I turned weakly to her, shaking. She was shaking just as bad as I was. I had never seen her like this and she had never seen me like this. We were fighting to keep our resolve, like we always had. I held onto her fingers, my eyes meeting hers. She shook out of my tight grasp, fumbling around the gate to find an opening. She then stopped, frozen. Her eyes were looking past my pitiful form and I followed her gaze.

Batman had risen.

He was swaying unsteadily, shaking his head. His mask was bloody, half of it threatening to fall off. He was still fighting. He was still fighting for this city. For people like me, for people like Selina. He, as Batman and Bruce Wayne, had saved so many of us…and here that was, being ripped apart and gutted by Bane's bare hands. Tears poured down my face. I had no shame anymore. I grit my teeth. My hero was dying and I could do nothing. Batman raised his fists, fighting to steady himself. It was hopeless.

"Please, Batman… Stop. God, stop." I whimpered, barely above a whisper. My voice hurt my throat and I choked again, my face twisted in sorrow.

Bane turned back to him, amusement prevalent in his eyes.

_NO!_ I could only scream in my head and clench Selina's fingers.

"Ah, I wondered what would break first. Your spirit…"

Batman swung at him, but it was slow and clumsy. He didn't connect. Bane headbutted him, sending my hero rearing back. But Bane caught him by his cape, keeping a death grip on it. The brute placed his other hand on Batman's belt, hefting him up and over his head. Batman flailed sluggishly, his hands trying to break Bane's hold on him.

"Or your body!"

Savagely, Bane brought Batman down onto his knee. A sickening crack echoed in the air.

"NO!"

I shouted, a horrible cry rising from me. Bane tossed the broken Batman towards the waterfall, the air of triumph surrounding him.

The man in black lay still in the puddles. The monster crouched next to him and peeled the broken cowl from his face.

For the first time, the world saw, _truly_ saw the man behind the mask.

I hunched over as heavy sobs tore through my chest. I choked and fought for breath. All I could hear was Selina's struggle with the door. I was numb.

I had to get her to leave – I turned to her once again.

"Selina," my voice was hoarse "You need to go… Please, for me." She was about to object, but I held my hand to the gate, fingertips touching her face through the holes in the wire gating. "Take Jen and leave the city. Tonight." Her face was warped, blurry from my tears. "I have to stay…I can't let him die in vain."

Light footsteps advanced towards us and I looked to Selina in earnest.

"Please go, Selina." I was breathing harder, shaking the gate. "He won't let me go!"

Rough hands seized me as an unnamed mercenary of Bane's pulled me up and away from Selina. Unshed tears rested in her eyes and she hesitated before tearing away from the grate.

I didn't fight when the mercenary lifted me and carried me across the catwalk, past the sandbags, and past the men. I refused to look at them, my body still shaking with sobs. The merc set me down on the damp concrete where I had first met Bane, taking post behind me. I hated how familiar I had become with this place. I cried out as I sat up, my bad foot pressing into the ground as I shifted to sit up. But that pain meant nothing to me.

I cried for him- For Bruce Wayne. For Batman.

Heavy footfalls made their way up the spiraling pathway and echoed through the hideout. Two of Bane's men walked behind him, dragging Batman through the stronghold. He walked with pride, power exuding from him. Batman was tossed to the center of Bane's chambers, immobile. He rested a few feet away from me.

I found myself crawling to him.

_Bruce Wayne? _I choked.

I gently lifted his head into my lap, staring at his face. I turned my head and tore my sleeve off. I gently touched his face, trying to clean away the blood.

His face was familiar – Who didn't know Bruce Wayne if they lived in Gotham? But I never knew him, only knew of him. The lies the media spewed and the face he put on before the city. But the entire time…he was Batman. I **knew **Batman, but never knew the man he was. I knew him as the man who saved my life.

He was still breathing, but it was faint. He was alive. He should be dead. He would be left in perpetual agony in this state. My hands worked to clean his face gently.

"And when the lion had killed the lesser gazelle, Finley…" Bane advanced toward me and spoke as though he were instructing me. "He dragged it back to his pride' He gestured around, eyes raised to observe his territory. That deep grumble of his voice rippled through me and my heart raced "To have those bear witness to his superiority."

A white hot anger rose up inside me. At the thuds of his steps, the sound of his voice. It was painful for me to keep my hatred controlled.

I didn't look to Bane, only kept my eyes on the broken Bruce Wayne. He had been behind the mask the whole time. Everyone accused Wayne of being self obsessed and cruel, but he was anything but. He was selfless, brave… A true knight.

I took a shuddering breath before I raised my head to meet his eyes. I never wished so much in my life that looks could eviscerate a man. I kept my glare, despite my tears blurring his figure.

"D-Do you think…" My voice shook, both with uneasiness and unbridled rage. "…breaking him accomplished anything?" I spoke up, to his amusement. My hands gripped Bruce Wayne's shoulders, nails digging into the Kevlar.

"Yes." he responded, looking to me with a quirked brow.

"You're wrong." I wheezed and narrowed my eyes at him, the white anger burning brighter in me.

"Am I, Finley?" the mask warned. He didn't like to be told that he was wrong. I looked away from him and back to the broken face on my lap.

"What are you going to do with him?" I avoided his question deliberately and cradled Batman's head, my fingers adsently brushing back matted hair from his forhead.

"Punish him with the darkness he believed that he commanded." he said matter of factly and crouched in front of Batman and I.

_How dare you._

My fingered curled in damp bloody hair. I raised my eyes to his, seething. "Haven't you done enough?"

His mask hissed. "Not nearly." He motioned for the merc behind me to remove me from Batman, but on some bizarre instinct, I covered my body with his.

"No!" He had abandoned me in my time of need, yes, but I wouldn't abandon him. I couldn't.

My efforts weren't nearly enough to protect him from these people.

One of his men grabbed my shoulder and I sunk my teeth into his bare hand. I didn't even gag as the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. The young man screamed and yanked back his hand before slamming his fist into my back.

I didn't cry out, only buried my head into Batman's shoulder.

"Back off, leave him!" I howled as more blows and tugs descended on my body, "I can…I can take care of him—please!"

Bane grabbed my hands with his and easily pried them off.

"Don't fucking touch me!" I was frantic.

My body went on autopilot when his hard, unyielding skin touched mine. I jolted from his touch, disgust and hatred flooding into my veins.

"Don't fucking touch me!" I shouted and thrashed my arms frantically, trying to lessen his hold on my wrists.

Having enough, he rose to his feet and yanked me up. Having the ability to use one foot caused me to lean against his hard chest. I cringed at his closeness and hobbled on one foot as I shoved against his chest. I might as well have been attempting to push a brick wall. His eyes glinted in amusement and I could have sworn he was smiling behind the mask. I snarled and pushed against him, gaining some space and managing to twist my body to the side.

"Impressive," his voice rumbled. He used my momentum and spun me around. He released my wrists before quickly wrapping his arms around me from behind, pulling me against him before I could try to move forward. His arms were coiled tightly around me, caging mine within his hold. I panted and struggled to get away, writhing against this unyielding giant.

"Are you that repulsed by my touch, girl?" His voice slithered into my ear, threatening and dark. His mask scraped against my neck and I shook. "You'd rather be held in the arms of the broken man at your feet?" He squeezed his arms tighter, constricting my chest. My head fell forward in defeat and I could do nothing as Bane's men dragged Gotham's only hope down this damp hell.

I was left alone with him. I stopped my struggling and he eased his grip. He carried me to the chair by his desk, setting me down. I did my best to calm down, but my shaking didn't subside. I flinched at his touch, his hands on my leg as he unwrapped the dirty bandages around my ankle. I didn't want him touching me, but I was too tired to argue.

_He just broke a man, but now he's doting on me. Sick fuck._

"Why didn't you just kill him?" I asked, my head lowered.

"That would have been a kindness. He must be made aware of his crimes." He said, his fingers running down my ankle. I twitched at the sensation, my foot flinching upward. I hissed as pain shot up my leg.

"Your ankle will heal quickly. I avoided a serious frac-"

"What crimes? He hasn't done anything wrong." I cut him off, my eyes looking to him. He wasn't in the place to accuse someone of crimes. I tried to pull my leg away from him, but his grip was too tight.

"You know nothing, Finley. You are defending a guilty man."

"No more guilty than you are, I imagine. You broke his back for what?" My voice was harsh. I thought of the only thing that could have power over Bane.

"Was it for her? Miranda? Did you do it for her?" I was overstepping my boundaries, but I couldn't stop the words from coming. He released my leg..

"She has no part in this." He grumbled, his eyes hardening and penetrating mine.

I knew I was getting to him and was filled with idiotic pride

"From what I heard, Miranda Tate was always trying to get close with Bruce Wayne."

His arm shot up and gripped the front of my shirt, throwing me to the ground at his feet. I tried to desperately suck air into my screaming lungs. I could only whimper and move my head and limbs feebly, when I felt his heavy mass knock into me. I gasped as my back hit, the wind knocked out from me. Bane leaned over, straddling me. He gripped my jaw in his hand, his fingers digging into my flesh.

He was unbearably warm and frighteningly masculine. His chest heaved, his breath raspy and inhuman through his mask. I bucked, trying to move him. He only increased his pressure. His eyes widened, not with surprise, but rage. He was boiling over, threatening to tear me apart.

"If I broke your jaw, Finley…" He tightened his grip, emitting a gasp from me. "Would it keep you from defying me?"

"Do you think breaking things will make them submit to you?" I spoke through grinded teeth, my hands pulling at his arm. He loosened his grip, his hand remaining on my face.

"It has been successful thus far, so yes." He growled at me with predatory fierceness.

"I think I might be a good example of failure in that case." I muttered weakly. I was already deep in my own grave, might as well add a couple more feet. He finally released my jaw, moving upright. He stood up from straddling me, stomping away. As if on cue, Barsad entered the room. He emerged from the shadows of the stairwell, looking to Bane. The masked man turned to Barsad, anger still in his eyes. His lieutenant looked between he and I, not sure what to make of the situation.

"The men are ready." Barsad spoke up, fidgeting from where he was standing.

"That is good to hear." Bane responded, shrugging on the coat he picked up from his bed. Not once did he look at me as he left the room, his feet pounding up the stairs. Barsad strode over to me and helped me up, setting me back up in the chair. He left me for a moment, only to return with my crutches and bags.

"We're going to be moving you again, love. Seeing as how we don't have a ceiling anymore." He offered a small smile, helping me onto my crutches.

"Where am I being dragged to now?" My voice lost its emotion.

"Somewhere familiar. I hear Daggett has vacated his home and it's getting quite lonely without someone." His tone was light, but that made me uncomfortable. There was malice in his words. Daggett must have been dead.

"I won't be alone, will I?"

"Oh not at all, love. I'll be keeping ye company while Bane is gone." He helped me up the stairs as we walked to the entrance I was familiar with. The bikes were gone, a ragged looking jeep taking their place. Barsad was the nicer man here, so I couldn't fathom why he was helping Bane. But they seemed close. I was curious as to why.

"Gone? Where's he going off to?" I questioned as he revved the jeep, speeding onto the Gotham streets again. It was near morning, the sun just barely about to rise. The sight pained me. I wanted to see Batman gliding over the city, keeping it safe under his wing. But those days were gone. Tears welled in my eyes. Gotham was soon going to be in Bane's hands.

"Going to show ye friend," I glared at him as he spoke. "True darkness. Where he was born. Part of his punishment."

_Really? His birth place? Peculiar._

"Yeah? Where was he born?" I questioned, keeping the wind out of my eyes with my hand. Bane would never tell me, but perhaps Barsad would.

"He wouldn't like me telling ye, but who do ye have to tell?" He grumbled, hands tightening around the wheel in anxity. "He was born in a prison, love. A deep pit. Horrible place." He shook his head as he cut off a swearing Gothamite, revving the jeep.

"That why he turned out the way he is?" He looked to me, a grimace on his face.

"Partially, ye could say. But 'tis really people. People haven't always been kind to him."

_Oh really? I can only imagine why…_

I inwardly hit myself for that one. I didn't know Bane's story. The only motivation I knew of was the strings Miranda kept him on.

"He didn't always wear the mask. No one gave two shits about him until the mask though." Barsad continued, parking in the garage underneath Daggett's old penthouse. He got out and moved over to the passenger side, helping me out. I balanced myself on my crutches and he walked along at my slow pace.

"But that's all I have for ye, he'd wring my neck if he knew what I told ye."

We stepped into the elevator together and he pressed the buttons. We waited in an awkward silence and both let out sighs of relief as the elevator dinged open. He pulled a keycard out of his pocket, sliding it through the reader beside Daggett's door. The door clicked open and he held the door for me. It felt odd being in this place and the silence that pervaded in these walls. The horrors this place had seen.

"Now, do whatever it is you do Finley. I won't bother ye."

He set my bags on the living room coffee table and disappeared into a room that branched off from the entrance room, locking the door behind him. I let out a ragged breath, trying to get a good grip on what exactly happened today. Bane had broken Batman. I had warned Selina and I'm hoping she heeded it. Now, I was back in Daggett's old place with only Barsad, Bane's right-hand man, as company. I crutched into the kitchen and looked for what I needed most: alcohol.

I found nothing in the fridge and nothing in any of his cabinets. Must keep it somewhere else. I moved to the living room, setting myself down onto the plush couch. I emptied out the bag that held the tools of my practice, organizing them on the table. Hydromorphone, morphine, Tylenol PM, razors, beakers, wires, syringes…The tools that had ended up in my being here, in this bizarre circumstance. The tools that put me into direct contact with a terrorist and direct contact with Batman…who was now broken and going through whatever hell Bane was putting him through.

I dropped the syringe I had been holding and it rolled along the carpet. I looked to my hands, blood staining the skin. Blood from Batman; from Bruce Wayne. I gasped and tried to shake the blood from my hands. I couldn't. I never would. I buried my head into my hands and cried.

_Finley, you're a damn mess._

**A/N: I sincerely apologize for the lateness, but Loretta Lolita and I worked really hard on this, so I really hope you like it! As always, let me know what you think! You guys are the cheese to my macaroni and the ninja to my turtle! Also, I listened to 'Broken Pieces' by Apocalyptica as I wrote this!**


	13. Tourniquet

**.Selina.**

The tears didn't fall until I closed the door to the apartment. With quiet steps, I made my way to Jen's room. She was asleep.

I was thankful. For now.

I headed to my room and stripped out of my suit, sliding into a sweat suit. I sat on the edge of the bed, trying to wrap my head around what happened.

I closed my eyes, but all I could see was Finn's bruised face, screaming at me—"He won't let me go!" The words dug under my skin and fed ice into my veins. I dropped my face into my hands and tried to stop the shaking.

I'd lost her. She slipped out of my hands like nothing. I'd never lost anything, but she wasn't here. She wasn't with me and she wasn't with her sister. Jen had no idea. She didn't even know Finn was gone.

_I need to tell her, but it can wait._

No matter how hard I tried, sleep evaded me. I kept seeing her- The look of horror in Finley's eyes and the bruises that decorated her skin…

_Bane…_I clenched my jaw and felt my face heat up. _What did you do to her?_

Flashes of him...Bane…beating her, tearing at her. Images of his fist colliding with her face and a gleam in his eye at the feel of bone crunching under his force invaded my head, taunting me. I pulled at my hair and tried to will the images away, but they were on replay. Finley's cries struck sharp chords and screamed through my ears.

My chest constricted causing my breath to come out in sharp wheezes. My Finley was being treated like a dog with those men.

My Finley.

Her words screamed in my head- _He won't let me go!_ Her bruised face remained a vivid painting behind my eyes.

Finley was… She was…

_Gone._

I hit myself in the forehead.

Once. Twice.

"FUCK!" The scream left my lips before I could process it. I raked my hands through my hair and tore at the roots.

She was still in that underground, cold and alone- and here I was having a tantrum in this cruddy apartment. I stood up from the bed and threw open the curtains, desperate for light. I'd had enough of the dark. Warm rays of sun hit my skin and illuminated the room.

"S-Selina?" A sleep-ridden voice came from my doorway. "What are you yelling for?" Jen stood, rubbing at her eyes.

_God_, she looked so much like Finn.

"Jen…We need…" I fought for what to say. "We have to leave. Pack what's important."

_Except for Finn._

Her face scrunched up."Why? We don't need to-" She paused. "Where's Finley?"

My blood chilled and goose bumps pricked up on my arms. I turned to her, crossing my arms over my chest. I focused on a statue I had picked up for aesthetic value from the museum, biting at my lips. I couldn't lie to her.

"She's with…dangerous men. She'll be safe as long as we leave. Today." I fought to keep my voice level, my lips quivering dangerously.

The younger Robinson started to shake her head." No, Finn is at home. You're yanking my chain." She chuckled a nervous laugh, pulling at the ends of her hair. "We're all going to leave together, right?"

I shook my head, inhaling cold air. Her hands dropped and arms hung limply at her side. _Oh no_. Her shoulders shook, her body filled with silent sobs. In a few single strides, I pulled her into my chest and kept her wrapped tightly against me. My hand found its way into her hair and I let her cry into my shoulder. I picked my head up and looked past her, my eyes burning through the walls.

_Bane is going to die._

Her tears stopped coming and she pulled away from me. Her bright eyes once youthful were now hollow, her face blank. A cold steel blade twisted in my gut.

"Get your things, Jen. We need to go." I whispered, wiping at my own eyes. Black makeup smeared along my fingers like blood.

She said nothing and looked past me, her mind elsewhere. Long gone. She turned away, dragging herself away from the door. She was empty. I let out a shaky breath and tried to gather my resolve. The least I could do was honor Finn's word. I blanched at the thought. I could have honored my own word to Batman…Bruce Wayne…warn him. But I didn't and now he was…gone. I could still feel the smooth texture of his lips on mine ever since the night of the gala.

The sun was making its way to the peak of its ascent by the time the both of us were ready. I placed my hat onto my head, straightening it. Black was all I wore and I either looked like a widow in mourning or an angry soul. I couldn't differentiate between the two at this point. She was waiting by the door, dressed in her red trenchcoat. _Possibly her most modest outfit._ I smiled a bit and took her wrist gently, leading her through the door.

She dug her heels into the ground like a defiant toddler.

"I don't like leaving her!" She wrenched her hand away from me, gaining back some life. "We need to help her, she's my sister!" Her voice was trembling again, sharp and whiny.

_I already tried and I failed._

I sighed, "She wanted us to leave, Jenna. She thought of what's best for us. It's Finn, she can weasel out of anything." I had to be strong for both of them.

She lowered her head as I waved down a cab, my lips twitching into a smirk as it pulled up. The driver rolled down the window, waving us in. Like a typical man, he appreciated the two women sliding into his dingy ride.

"Hello sweetheart. That your kid?" His voice was raspy and discomforting, but I cracked a smile.

"No, my niece. Now Gotham Airport please." I gave him a smile from under the brim of my hat. A blush ran up his neck and he pulled at his color. In my head, I was gagging. He tore off from our apartment building and I tried to relax. It was a useless struggle. I sat upright in my seat, holding onto Jen's limp hand. She looked out the window, her face blank. She was a tough kid, but this was a knife to the heart. I could relate.

Early morning traffic was nothing and we were there by the afternoon. I left the man without a fare, but a big kiss on his cheek. I tipped my hat to him as he nearly crashed into another car in an attempt to exit the airport.

"Go on ahead and wait for me, I'll get the tickets." I murmured to Jen, digging through the purse at my side. She went ahead without a word, walking deeper into the airport. Clean and white, it was a perfect entry way for tourists. They believed the city to be without fault. But true Gothamites knew that the clean white tile was a cover-up for the dark filth that rested under all the steel and pavement.

_Bane._

I grimaced at the woman sitting in the patient booth, making a point to her that I needed an immediate flight for two headed for Canada. She fumbled with the tickets at the weight of my scowl, sliding them over to me. I sauntered away. I just needed to find Jen and we could leave. I moved through the airport, keeping my head ducked. Footsteps moved in my direction and I picked my head up for just a moment. The sun gleamed off a shiny badge and cast rays in the airport concourse.

_Just perfect._

I veered, quickening my pace. I disappeared into a service corridor and watched as the door shut behind me. I tugged out my red lipstick and began to reapply it, my body exuding the air of a casual, yet rich woman. The cop stepped in behind me, holding up papers and edging closer to me.

"Miss, I'm going to need to see your ticket and some identification."

I perked up and flashed a surprised smile, "Of course." I took off my hat and handed it to him, careful to keep a smile on my face. "Would you mind?"

Like a gentleman, he took it carefully in his hands. I punched through the crown of the hat, striking him in the jaw, knocking him out cold.

_This city really needs to be honest instead of calling these morons their 'finest'._

I drug his body into a janitorial closet nearby, tossing the torn hat onto his unconscious face. I tsked and slid out through the door I came in, making my way back down the concourse. I checked the ticket number, looking at the electronic signs above each flight. I found my number: three. My face paled. Jen was nowhere in sight. My heart raced. Something was wrong. I advanced down the jetway, my eyes darting about to try and find her. But my eyes met the scowls of two security men and the smiling face of a cop presenting his shiny, new badge to me. I recognized him. He was the one at the bar the other night. The overly helpful one. I swallowed tightly, standing upright.

He stepped up to me, tall and lean with dark hair and kind eyes. He reminded me of a boy on the verge of becoming a man. In a city like this, he'd be filth like the rest of us.

"If you're looking for your friend, she's safe. Seems a little down though." His city accent was polite enough, but his eyes held dire seriousness. I surrendered willingly and he led me away, handcuffing me as we walked.

"Where is she?" I turned my head to look at him, my eyes set into a sharp leer.

"Waiting room, but that's not important." His lips twitched and he frowned. "Sorry to burst your most likely stolen bubble, but you're staying in the city, Miss Kyle."

_At least I'll be in the same city as Finn, and hopefully I can do a better job of keeping Jen safe._

The room he took me to looked more like a waiting lounge than an appropriate interrogation room, but I kept my mouth shut. The sun bleeding into the room was a welcome sight despite the deep dark of the current happenings. He was kind enough to guide me to my seat, but once he sat down he was all business. I bit at the inside of my lip, worrying it down to torn skin.

"I showed your picture to the congressman," He threw down a file onto the table. "Guess what?"

This cop was young and most likely inexperienced, but he didn't look a day older than Finn. I gave an exaggerated sigh and looked elsewhere.

"Still in love?" I drug my eyes back to him, my lips curled in annoyance.

"Head over heels for a dame like you." He shook his head, a chipper smile on his face. "Pressing charges though." He opened the file and I noticed my mugshot.

_Shouldn't have gone out in the rain, my makeup looks dreadful._

"You've made some mistakes, huh, Miss Kyle?" He looked at me, brows raised. I took this time to read the badge on his jacket; John Blake.

"Girl's gotta eat in a town like this." I leered at him, picking at the cuffs.

"Not just you, I'm gathering. That girl…Jen, right?" He questioned, lacing his hands together and leaning forward. "She your friend? Accomplice in the congressman's kidnapping?"

"Oh, I borrowed him for a day. She's got no part in this." I rolled my eyes. "He's at home with his poodles and caviar now."

He didn't look pleased with my answer_. What a tight ass._

"Since you're such a professional at kidnapping…"He trailed off, digging into the file he held out on the desk. I furrowed my brow and pursed my lips. Where's he going with this?

"What do you know about a missing doctor? An anesthesiologist actually." He slid a picture along the table and it stopped just before it slid off the end. "There's some rumors in old town that she got in deep with the wrong folks with some kind of drug…Venom is what they're calling it."

My eyes slid onto the photo and I stopped breathing. The air had been stolen from my lungs.

A plain faced Finley stood in front of a hospital room, arms folded over her chest. She was in her purple scrubs, a blue rose pin on her collar. A pin that I gave her. My face fell, my body numbing at the sight.

"You know her?" His voice dropped an octave and the smile left his face. Nothing got past John Blake, rookie extraordinaire.

My eyes cast down, looking to my hands that twitched uncontrollably.

"I'm going to take that as a yes. You got a part in her disappearance?" He spoke up, baiting me to anger. I heated at his accusations.

_Boy better watch it. This cat's got claws._

"That why you're running from us? To get out of dodge before we trace your tracks? Your record is a hard one to get away from and with a congressman kidnapping…"He tilted his head, a sardonic frown on his face. "ALONG with a possible hand in the disappearance of Finley Robinson, you're going nowhere fast." He reached back and pulled the picture to him again. He looked at it and his eyes softened. He tucked it back into the file.

My eyes blazed and I dug my nails into my palms. "Maybe it's not you people I'm running from."

"Looks to me like you're running away from a crime scene." His voice hardened along with his eyes. He was losing patience. I was losing my resolve. "But who you running from?" His head dipped forward. "Bane?" I cringed at his name and my eyes widened, bearing into him.

"What do you know about him?"

He made connections quicker than I thought he would, I'd give him that.

"I know that you should be as afraid of him as I am." I turned my eyes to him. "You want to find Finn, he has her… You go to him." I bared my teeth, my façade of a rich uptown woman fading fast.

"I've already tried, and I failed. What do you think will happen once you go underground?" I cocked my head at him. "What good do you think your rules and laws will do? Your shiny badge won't help you there."

He flinched at this.

"You're close with her." He leaned back, grabbing the file and holding it to his chest.

I answered him with silence.

He sighed. "When I saw you leaving, I was looking for a friend of mine…" His voice wavered and I almost felt for him. "Bruce Wayne."

My eyes shot open wide and I sunk into the seat, averting his gaze. I looked out the window, fighting the regretful tears that threatened to spill. I would lose almost all respect I had for myself if I cried in front of this cop.

"Did they kill him?" His voice was quiet and I looked to him for a moment. He didn't have the face of a serious cop anymore. He looked more like a boy who had his family taken away from him, a heavy sorrow threatening to break through his eyes.

"I…I'm not sure." He stood up and ran a shaky hand through his hair before covering his mouth in disbelief. I adjusted myself uncomfortable, wanting the silence to go away.

"You still kidnapped the congressman, but…" he turned to look at me. "I'll do what I can for your friend. I'll find her."

I scoffed, "You can't do anything, John Blake."

His lips formed a tight smile as he turned to leave, his eyes bright once again.

"A little faith never hurt anyone, Miss Kyle."

A/N: Another Selina chapter. She's kind of a major component. And how about that John Blake getting in on this!? Sorry for the wait on this one! Anyway, a warning in advance...The rating for this story will go up in probably like three or four chapters, so if you're not into that kind of thing, I am le sorry. With that being said, review and lemme know what you think!


	14. How Soon is Now?

Complete and utter pain.

That's all I could register when my eyes flashed open. A silent cry left my throat and my face twisted in suffering. I cringed after letting out a shaky breath as my dry lips cracked and bled. Slowly my eyes adjusted to the blinding light. A shadow moved to my left and I struggled to get away. My arms shook violently and I cried out, knives of pain running up and down my body.

"I was wondering if you decided to make your new home in that head of yours." Barsad's voice was light and he placed a hand on my shoulder to steady me as I sat up. I was on a bed, but this wasn't the room I had been kept in the last time. This one was much larger and had more sophistication in decoration. Glass vases and statues took up the majority of the vast room, trophies from travels I suspected. The walls were crimson and glittering shapes that were casted through the glass statues sauntered across the expanse. The modern styled bed took up the rest of the space and the silken bed sheets swallowed my form. This must be Daggett's room.

_And he's dead._

I blanched and felt a potent bile storm rising from my stomach. I couldn't remember the last time I had eaten. My stomach was threatening to cannibalize itself and the pain was immobilizing. Barsad released my shoulder once I came to sit up against the headboard, my back aching every time I moved. I ran my eyes down my arms and they widened at the purples and blues that camouflaged my skin.

"You've been out for a couple of days." I turned to him. The mercenary frowned. "Understandable really." He held his arm out and in his hand was a plate of food.

I perked up just enough to ignore the pain. I took it from his hands, looking over everything to make sure it was real. The scent of smoking sausage sparked me into life and without a second thought, I started to eat. He sat down on the edge of the bed and watched me.

I tore at the food, my hands the claws of a ravenous and snarling creature. He snatched the plate away from me. The mercenary kept brandishing the food, tantalizing and taunting me as his smile grew each time I reached for it.

_Cheeky fucker. _I scowled.

"Ye eat too fast," He regarded me like a child before handing the plate back. "Eat it slow and ye'll get your strength back."

"Wait…did you just…" Only now my mind registered what he said earlier. "I've been out for two days?" I sunk my teeth into the sausage and reveled as the juices filled my mouth. Scrutinizing Barsad only resulted in his grin stretching and a twinkle taking to his eye.

"Yes, Bane should be back tomorrow."

_FUCK! He was gone and I didn't wake up until _fucking _now? My luck._

My blood boiled at the mention of that creature's name. I drug my eyes away from Barsad and looked to the scarlet bed sheets, willing them to catch fire. Images of a bloody Batman…No, Bruce Goddamn Wayne…and Bane's terror-inducing mask resurged behind my eyes. The shining of iridescent blood and the snarled tubes of his mouth taunted me.

"No offense, Finley…" Barsad drawled and I snapped back to Daggett's room when he took the plate from my hands. "But ya smell like a dead animal."

"I feel like a dead animal." I sniffed down at myself and nearly vomited. "I need to scrub myself with acid."

I shifted and groaned, fighting to sit up. I pushed myself along the bed and Barsad only watched, amused at my position. Supine on my back, I slid myself along the silk sheets. I probably looked ridiculous, but my muscles screamed with misery. Barsad stood from the edge of the bed and brought me to standing by pulling me up by my arms. For a mercenary and a killer, he was incredibly gentle. I was grateful for that.

"Acid is a tidbit extreme, doctor." He chuckled and put my arm over his shoulder. "But I have heard rumors that water and soap works just as well."

He guided me while I hobbled to what had been Daggett's luxurious bathroom. The shower had obviously been built for two, along with the elaborate antique bathtub that hurt me to look at.

_Arrogant prick._

I shook my arm off Barsad and leaned heavily on the counter. I paled at the sight of my clothes in the mirror. Without thinking, I reached down to lift the blood and sewer filth stained shirt from my lanky frame. My stiff arms protested, the torn fabric refusing to rise higher than my stomach. I whimpered and shut my eyes.

Unfamiliar hands started to lift my shirt. I screamed, gasping for air as my chest tensed up with fear. I slapped at the hands in reflex, spinning on my good heel to face the mercenary behind me.

Barsad held his hands up in defense, palms facing me. He lowered his head in respect, looking up at me from under his brow..

"I'm not going to touch you if that's what you're thinking."

I remained tense despite the kindness in his voice and backed further away, keeping my eyes fixed on him.

"He'd kill me if I did anything to you." He frowned, lowering his hands. "I was going to help you, but if you think you can do it, be my guest."

He had a point.

I lowered my hands from my shirt and slumped. I turned my back to him.

"If you do anything weird…"

"Wouldn't dream of it." His accented voice cut me off and he lifted my shirt, carefully pulling it over my raised and trembling arms. I hissed at the pain, closing my eyes. He lifted the shirt from my head and tossed it away. His fingers brushed my back as he unfastened my bra and I yelped. The flimsy piece of clothing fell from me, leaving me in nothing but my underwear and sweatpants. My arms wrapped over my chest, giving me some privacy to this foreign man. I opened my eyes and looked to the mirror where my reflection looked back at me.

"Holy shit." I let out a breath. Barsad's brow rose as he met my eyes in the mirror.

I turned this way and that, looking over myself. My back looked like an angry map of the world. Bruises trailed along my back and shoulders. Purple, grey, and yellow.

_Pounding blows bludgeoned my back, jostling my teeth and disrupting my heart beat. Looking up, seeing the tempestuous fury that was Bane's eyes as he watched his men pummel me. He regarded my pain with apathy, pulling me up and to him. Wrapped in arms that felt like a coffin. Arms that should have struck the nail into my death sentence._

My ribs poked through my torso, but some meat managed to keep my hips from looking too skeletal. I wanted to cry at the sight of myself. I looked like walking death.

"For a tiny sprite like yourself, that beating should have killed you." Barsad spoke up, distracting me. "But you're still breathing."

That I could take an ungodly amount of beating? That wasn't something to be proud of. I shouldn't have been in that situation in the first place. Or this situation. My place was in my apartment, surrounded by dust and faded memories. I grimaced.

I turned my head away from the mirror. I reached one hand down and untied the string of my pants, letting them slide down my hips. I settled onto the toilet seat, mindful to cover my bare chest. Barsad knelt down and pulled the pants over my gnarled foot, throwing them aside with everything else. He stood and backed away. He was smart enough to know that my underwear was my territory and no one else's.

He closed his eyes as I hooked my thumbs into my underwear, sliding the flimsy fabric from me. I kept my eyes on him as I struggled to the shower.

"You'll have your privacy, but I'm on strict orders to not leave you alone." Barsad spoke up outside as I fumbled with the knobs. I threw on the hot water. A sharp hiss escaped me as the water pounded violently into my back. An all too familiar feeling. Blindly I grabbed for the shower seat, setting my bottom onto the cool glass.

_Even his shower is glass. I bet he pissed gold and shit diamonds._

Hot tears leaked from my eyes at the pain, but I managed to stay under the aquatic assault. The heat numbed me and after a few moments, the torment was replaced with sweet pleasure.

"Why do you take orders from him? Why follow him?" I spoke loudly over the roar of the shower, weakly using my arms to rub myself down with a bar of flowery smelling soap. Bending at the waist, I ran my hands up and down my legs. Filth that had accumulated over the days washed down the drain, leaving my skin pink.

_Fuck, I'm turning into a bear._

I needed a good shave. I reached up and swore as my hand knocked down a razor that had been resting on a tiled shelf in the shower.

"Because." He finally answered.

"Compared to the others, you have a mind of your own." I sincerely questioned as I groomed myself, enjoying the feel of being smooth again.

"That's why I follow him, Finley." His voice was filled with absolution and that startled me.

…_What?_

"What does that mean?" The water numbed me enough to where I could reach and scrub my hair with shampoo, fighting to detangle it. The fresh smells and steam of the shower filled the room. The glass of the shower was foggy, obscuring my view of Barsad's relaxed figure. I heard him shift and saw him turn to sit on the counter.

"The first time I met Bane was when I tried to kill him."

_Holy shit. _I paused my movements, the torrential downpour the solitary sound that permeated through the room.

He went on with slight reluctance tugging at his voice. "Work was hard to find, so I figured that…" He paused, searching for his words. "Making my talents available was my best bet. Some people are good at healing other people, like you, but me…" He stopped at the sound of me stepping from the shower, shiny and new. His eyes were shut tight, which I liked to think they were like that the entirety of my shower. I gimped past his seated figure and grabbed a towel from the rack, quickly drying my tender skin and hair before wrapping myself in it and gimping out of the bathroom. I sat on the edge of the gigantic bed and the tips of my toes grazed the fluffy carpet. Barsad had followed me, keeping a decent space in the instance that I had collapsed.

How did a man who seemed decent enough find himself in Bane's company? Willingly? I looked to him with confusion as he settled himself into the plush armchair across the foot of the bed. Glass statues surrounded the armchair. With his ragtag armor and all around scruffy appearance, the glamour of this place didn't seem to suit him.

"I was good at killing. Particularly from a distance." He laced his fingers together and leaned back, propping his foot upon his knee. "Never miss a shot either."

I was starting to become used to how casual men spoke about killing each other, I realized bitterly.

"Yeah?" I broke the silence awkwardly.

"So, naturally, word got around and soon enough, I was getting jobs. A job was a job and money was money. After a few months of assassinating farmers who were making too much profit and rival businessmen, a peculiar job showed up at my door." He looked down at his hands as he twiddled his thumbs.

"There was a man in Africa, trying to start an uprising of workers in some construction company." He waved his hand dismissively. "I didn't find out later that it was a staged coup, Daggett's idea, but the man starting it went by the name of Bane. My contractor wanted me to kill him before it got out of hand. But not outright, he wanted it to be inconspicuous to prevent public outrage. Bane had built up quite a following by that time. I had to…"He drawled off, looking away from me. "For lack of a better term, get close to him."

"I hate to interrupt, but why are you telling me this?" I rubbed at my neck. A nervous habit.

He looked to me with a thoughtful gaze. "It might be best if you knew of Bane's other facets."

"The first time I asked, he shot that plane down fast." I was skeptical of Barsad's actions. "And your loyal to him, so why tell an outsider?"

He wasn't affected by my scrutiny.

"You said it yourself; I have a mind of my own." His lips upturned.

_Barsad isn't all too bad, but be careful Finn. Nothing is ever what it seems._

I veered off from that course and back to our previous one.

"Bane…was a construction worker?" I tried to wrap my head around the idea. I couldn't picture the impervious Bane hammering away at stone like a commoner. "Why didn't you kill him?"

"Reasons." His eyes cut into me. "He was for a short time, however long Daggett needed him to stay there. I eased myself in with no difficulty." He furrowed his brow, trying to reel in the memory from the back of his head. "But Bane…he knew."

"Knew what? That you were there to kill him?" I piped up, wrapping myself tightly in my arms.

"Yes. He came to me at night, when all the others had gone off to sleep, and simply asked me why. Interesting question: Why?" He peered over at me, sky blue eyes seeing into me. "Makes you think over every second of your life. I tried to find reasons to piece together to give validation to why I should kill this man. I told him for the money. And he only laughed."

"He holds no belief in the power of money or the power of politicians." He shook his head and waved his hands. "He told me how disappointed he was to find out that I was using my skillset for corrupt and twisted men." Blue eyes cast downward and his hands stopped moving, resting on his thighs. "He had an idea. To tear apart the established order from the inside and to burn the men who sat atop their thrones, to give the people what they deserved and rightfully earned." His head picked back up, eyes blazing, and cleared his throat. "My family had been killed by men of established order who sat atop golden thrones…So when Bane offered me a place by his side, saying no wasn't an option."

_So Bane is a Robin Hood to these men…but he's been diluted by Miranda?_

"Where does Miranda play into this?"

His lips pulled tight, hiding behind the scruff of his facial hair.

"That's a weighted question."

His voice held warning, but I pressed on.

"She holds something over him, but what?"

He sat up abruptly, taking the few steps it took to get to me. He knelt down to my eye level and I looked away, zoning in on a marble sculpture of a panther. Why was he so close? My face burned and I almost regretted that I tried to squeeze it out of him.

"I have a place. Bane wouldn't be happy if I were to tell you that." His voice was lowered as he inspected the bruises on my skin. The hair on my arms rose from nervousness.

"After everything I've been through with you people…" Some strength returned to my voice. "I deserve to be told one damn thing."

His lips pursed.

"Think of the strongest emotion that you can humanly feel. That's what she holds over him."

His answer was cryptic and I ached to understand it. I sorted through every feeling in my head and my face constricted in painful thought.

Until I managed to pull one word out from the chasm that was my head.

"Hate?"

Barsad gave a soft chuckle. "Maybe in yer case, but not his. Love was what I was looking for."

This mercenary, Bane's lieutenant, confirmed the suspicions I had been holding. Bane did love her, that wretched black queen whose poisoned words oozed from perfectly red lips.

_Hold up. He can feel love?_

At some point in time, Bane's heart had been filled not with the inferno of hate, but the burning embers of passion? No, that couldn't be possible. Bane wasn't the type to feel any pleasant emotion. But what did I know?

Barsad observed my face as it went through its changes from outright horror to unadulterated confusion. Knees popped as Barsad stood, a deep groan rising from his chest. My gray eyes followed him. His heavy boots scuffed the floor as he moved away from me.

"Barsad…Does she…" I waited for him to turn to me. "Does she love him back?"

His hand hovered over the door knob as he turned to look at me.

"I wouldn't want to be the one to tell him otherwise, love. Your belongings are in the drawers by the tiger statue."

With that, he left me to my own solitude, but kept the door slightly ajar. I exhaled slowly and closed my eyes.

My hand drifted to my throat and my fingernails brushed along the skin. I clasped my throat gently, fitting my hand onto the bruise that was no doubt there. I imagined the feel of his rough hand, enclosing my neck in a life-threatening vice.

He would spill blood for her. Wage a meaningless war for her. He would kill innocents, all for the blind hope she'd return his affection. He would die for her if she commanded it. I dropped my hand from my throat and looked at my hands. The bruises I had were nothing compared to the internal scars and old wounds that Bane kept hidden, up high on the golden pedestal he held that abhorring woman on.

Hers would be the face upon the banner he waved when the ships sailed and war began.

That thought startled me from my reverie and I stood from the bed, hobbling to where Barsad told me my things would be. The drawers were tucked into the farthest corner from the bed, along the wall where the door hung ajar. A glass desk was tucked tightly beside it.

_Well, I won't have to move very far._

I dropped the towel and dug through the drawers, pulling out an old sports bra and a pair of panties, along with another pair of oversized sweatpants from my endless supply. I struggled to put them on, not without a few sharp yelps and hisses. My eyes watered in frustration. I dug through the drawer, my fingers brushing against rough yarn. I pulled the garment out and held it stretched out before me.

_This…No._

It was her favorite sweater. Jen's. A faded dolphin smiled back at me from the sweater, the garment old and musky. An image, a memory, of ten year Jen going to school for the first time and wearing this sweater. I stumbled to the seat that waited in front of the desk, burrowing my face into the dolphin. It smelled like Selina's apartment. Egyptian musk and lavender that brought me to tears.

I finally brought myself to look at the desktop. The components of my criminal behavior were assorted on the clear desk, neatly displayed. My criminal behavior that got me into this mess and put me in the spotlight. My drug took me away from my sister. Even before this. She didn't like that I made it the first time. She said my job made enough money to where I didn't need to make the venom. But it didn't. I never told her that I was still paying off the financial aid that got me through college. Our family was poor and it got worse after our parents were arrested. They were appalling parents to begin with, but the alcohol made them worse. I had to raise Jen and protect her from them, take the blows I knew she couldn't handle.

She didn't even know they were dead. Sentenced to Arkham and the last I heard of them, they were victims in some kind of experimental drug scandal. Only thing I had left of them was the letter from a doctor at the Asylum, full of false apologies regarding my parents death.

I pushed Jen away early from me once the drugs started, to keep her safe. But I was wrong. I was wrong the whole time. I should have stayed with her and Selina. We could have been together at this moment, just like old times. What would be different if I had never made the venom? Would Selina, Jen, and I be off somewhere only we knew, living for ourselves?

The silence in this unfamiliar room was forcing me to cut myself open and inspect myself. I hated what I saw. I loathed it. Scalding anger roiled in my chest and a cold depression encased me, keeping each locked and pent up together. I looked at the glinting end of a clean, unused syringe that rested on the desk. Only an arm's length away.

I was alone here. Barsad was friendly enough, but he was the right hand of Bane, who was being strung up by Miranda. I was a pawn, another plastic and expendable piece in this game.

Bane has this belief that he can bend me to his will. Mold me to fit precisely how he wants me to. Make be submit to his insatiable dominance.

_You're wrong, Bane._

I wanted Jen to be here. I wanted to see her face, to tell her everything is okay. Lie to her again.

"Jen…" I moaned out and my lips quivered. My hands drifted along the cool glass of the desk, taking the clean syringe in hand. I went through the routine of filling it with morphine and the clear substance bubbled in the vial. I lazily eyed the bubbles, watching them as they stilled. I raised the syringe to the crook of my arm, inhaling the cold air sharply. I tapped the syringe, going through all of the steps an addict took. I had seen enough to know.

I was no longer Finley Robinson the highly acclaimed anesthesiologist—I didn't want to be her.

"You're just another patient, Finley. Here to take your own pain away." I pressed the needle to my skin. "They can't hurt me anymore. I won't let them."

The needle tore into the skin and I fed falsities into my veins until nothing was left. Like the first and only time I had done this, the morphine felt just as cold and unforgiving. The syringe fell from my grasp, suspended in motion. My weightless body floated, drifted from the seat and onto the carpet that cradled my skin like soft hands. Accepting hands that guided my agony away. My eyes fell shut and I spiraled into a black and white kaleidoscope of oblivion.

-line will be inserted here-

"It was his." A woman. Familiar.

"Wayne's?" A man. Also familiar.

Hushed voices. Harsh whispers. Words filtered into my dreamscape. I was pulled from my quiet void. My eyes barely opened, the stars from the windows waving at me. My hands groped at the carpet that tickled my palms. I kicked my legs as I tried to swim across the expanse of the floor, a low moan rising from my chest at my futile attempts. These voices were familiar and they were the only things I could grasp onto. My fingers pulled at the carpet.

"Yes…" The woman sounded ashamed, but her voice was that of a low hiss.

"Talia…will he be told?"

"T-Talia?" I didn't recognize the voice that left my lips. Speaking hurt and I laid my head back onto the ground, the fibers tickling and exciting the nerves in my face. My body felt numb and light. It was a lovely feeling.

_Like a cloud._ Cloud, _cloud floating before it fades._

_Fades forever._

_Whose Talia?_

"He doesn't need to know," She snapped. "And I _will_ know if you tell him, Barsad."

"I have my own doctors to take care of this…" The woman paused. "Mistake."

I clung onto his name: Barsad. I knew that name. I let out a breathless giggle, remembering the blue eyed mercenary as I rolled onto my back. Shadows gathered in front of my eyes and stood overhead. Curious and murky creatures.

Not huge and mighty forms.

"But he deserves to know aft-"

"Do not raise your voice to me." Her ill-lighted voice silenced the man.

"I apologize." His voice lowered, but he didn't seem happy.

Happy like I was.

"Bane will never know and everything will go on as though it never happened." She continued on, clearly the one in charge of this obscure conversation.

The dark wisps reached for my face and I pawed at the air, batting the shadows away as I tried to grasp something solid to hold onto. My fingers brushed against something heavy, my hands feebly holding onto the arm of the chair. My body swayed and I fell back once more. My head spun violently and the chair crashed into the desk, the sound rocketing my nerves into a fritz.

"She's awake." The woman spoke with authority and the room became silent.

A beam of light fell over head and my eyes blinked furiously. I groaned and slapped my hands to my eyes. The light caused my head to throb and spots to obscure my vision. A heavy presence over the weightless shadows peeked my curiousity and I peeled my hands from my eyes. A figure loomed over me, smelling of incense and roses.

_And blood._

"Gods, you're a pathetic sight." The accented voice of this looming figure startled me.

"Wha…?" I tried to speak. My lungs were lethargic, rising slowly and steadily to their own rhythm.

"A sad creature you are, Finley Robinson. No sadder than your sister, I suppose." She taunted me. I willed my hand to claw at the foot by my head, but they were sluggish. She was a giant standing over a measly rat. A heeled boot dug into my upturned palm. I felt the pressure, but the pain was nonexistent.

I choked out a laugh, forcing my vocal chords to work. "Your words can't hurt me anymore."

She gave a disgusted grunt, kicking my hand away. I pulled them to my sides. I started to hazily make out the details of her face. She was a beautiful, yet disgusting evil. She's what I imagine Lilith to look like. Or maybe she looked like Lilith. I couldn't tell.

"She's drugged, Talia. She can't do anything." Another figure stepped next to the woman. Colors started to bleed in from the edges of my view. I could make out the color of his eyes. An electric blue.

"She heard us." Her head turned to him as she spoke, the ringlets of her hair reminiscent of snakes.

"Heard something about a Wayne and you…" I garbled out.

_Barsad. _A quiet moan left my lips as reached for the man. _Mind giving your pal Finley a hand? _My body contorted on its own, unaware of its surroundings.

"The doctor will forget in the morning. Let's leave her be." He had a solemn urgency in his voice.

"For her sister's sake, I hope she does."

"Where are…?" I reached out for their retreating figures, my fingers hooking into the strap of a small boot. A woman's. The boot pulled back and came back to me sharply, striking me in the head, and for a moment, I believed that I could see the universe before stars burst behind my eyes like fireworks that signaled me to a place of rest.

* * *

The child-like hands of the carpet tickled my face as I awoke. They caressed me as I slid my eyes open, seeing the room through rose-tinted glasses.

"And she awakes." A deep voice grumbled, sending hot vibrations through my system.

_He's back..._

My head swayed. Heavy foot falls shook the room before hardened hands pulled me up from the floor, not caring to be gentle. My struggles did nothing against him. His body heat was overwhelming and intoxicating all at once. He lifted me over his shoulder and my hands gripped at his coat.

"Can I go back to where I was?" I mumbled, stretching out my hands to reach the carpet that seemed miles away. "I like that place better than being with you."

A loud crunch startled me and my eyes lazily rolled over to the ground underneath his feet. He lifted his foot and two broken syringes littered the carpet with sharp glass.

_That's two…One more than I thought…No wonder the ground was so fluffy._

"The lengths you go to in my absence, doctor."

A/N: My word, I apologize for the wait my lovelies! School, work and all that shenanigans. I'll be putting chapters out when I can. And credit needs to go to my good friend Loretta Lolita for helping me big time on all these chapters. Some of the best moments wouldn't have happened if not for her. Best person ever. Anyway, I do hope you all know that I am using comic influences along with movie, so if anything sideswipes you, it's probably influenced by the comic. Haha. As always, let me know what you think!


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